Israeli air strikes in Lebanon that killed at least 49 civilians, including entire families and a local mayor, in September and October were “unlawful” and should be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International concluded on Thursday.
The human rights group documented four separate attacks during Israel’s offensive against Hizbollah in Lebanon, all of which occurred without warning. Amnesty interviewed dozens of survivors and witnesses, visited the sites of three of the attacks and analysed video and satellite imagery.
One of the attacks documented was an air strike that destroyed a house in a village in Lebanon’s northeastern Baalbek district at dawn on September 29, killing all nine members of the family inside. All were civilians, and residents and local officials said there was no known military target in the house, according to the report.