UN raises war crime concerns regarding Israeli strikes on Lebanon's civilian buildings
發佈日期: 2026-03-18 20:29
TVB News
Israel has fired a salvo of airstrikes toward residential buildings in Beirut in the early hours of Wednesday, expanding its military presence into the heart of the Lebanese capital. Meanwhile, the United Nations raised concerns about the offensive's worsening toll on civilians across the country.
Israel struck the floors of a residential apartment block in Beirut's densely populated Zuqaq al-Blat district at about 1:30 a.m. At least two floors of a building were tore through by another blast in Basta district nearby.
No warnings were issued prior to the two overnight attacks in which six people were killed and 24 others injured.
Israeli forces also targeted a third building in the city's Bachoura neighbourhood at around 5:30 a.m., claiming in a statement that they intended to act against what they described as a Hezbollah facility.
Video footage showed the structure of the multi-storey building collapsing as day broke.
Media reports say it had been targeted several times recently, but this time it's completely demolished and razed to the ground.
Israel has launched deadly attacks in Hezbollah's stronghold in eastern and southern Lebanon since the war broke out.
Four died from an airstrike in the eastern city of Baalbeck, and 10 individuals were killed by the Israelis in three different locations in the south, according to Lebanon's state news agency.
The resurgence of Israel's attacks against Lebanon's residential buildings, displaced people and healthcare workers prompted the United Nations human rights office to raise concerns under international law.
Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva that "international law is very clear that deliberately attacking civilians or civilian object amounts to war crime."
He said, "Israeli airstrikes have destroyed hundreds of homes and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities...Statements by Israeli officials threatening to impose the same level of destruction on Lebanon as inflicted in Gaza are wholly unacceptable. Such rhetoric, coupled with the Israeli military's announcement that it will deploy additional forces and expand its ground incursion, intensify deep fear and anxiety among the Lebanese population."
