Israel Conflict Sees Amnesty Label Forced Displacement in Lebanon a War Crime
Amnesty International has concluded that Israel's mass evacuation orders and prevention of civilians returning to southern Lebanon constitute unlawful transfer and a war crime under international humanitarian law in the Israel conflict. Israel's forced displacement of civilians in southern Lebanon and prevention of their return amounts to a war crime according to the rights group.
Amnesty Investigation into Forced Displacement
Amnesty International's investigation analysed Israeli military orders published on X, interviews with displaced residents and satellite imagery. The rights group found that the Israeli military had dramatically expanded its use of mass evacuation and no-return orders since 2024, displacing hundreds of thousands of people across Lebanon and preventing tens of thousands from returning to their homes in the south. Amnesty concluded that Israel used evacuation orders as a deliberate tool to depopulate large areas of southern Lebanon while continuing to destroy homes and civilian infrastructure. International humanitarian law permits evacuations only in exceptional circumstances and requires that they be temporary, conducted safely, and followed by the return of civilians once hostilities cease, Amnesty stated. The organisation argued that the continued exclusion of residents from large areas of southern Lebanon violates those obligations. "Israel's forced displacement and prevention of return of tens of thousands of civilians from southern Lebanon amounts to unlawful transfer, which is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and thus a war crime," said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa [1].
Scale of Evacuation Orders in 2026
Trump criticises Israel for killing civilians in Lebanon during G7 summit. — Source: middleeasteye Amnesty said Israel significantly expanded the scale and frequency of evacuation orders during the 2026 escalation compared with 2024. Within the first 48 hours of the escalation, the Israeli military ordered residents to leave all areas south of the Litani River, covering around 8.5 percent of Lebanon. Days later, it expanded the order to areas south of the Zahrani River, affecting territory home to roughly 800,000 people [1]. Three days after the 17 April ceasefire, the Israeli military designated a Forward Defence zone extending eight to 12 kilometres into Lebanese territory and covering around 600 square kilometres, equivalent to about 6 percent of Lebanon's land area. Residents of dozens of villages were barred from returning [1].
Destruction Documented in Southern Lebanon
Satellite imagery showed widespread destruction inside the zone, with entire municipalities along the border largely levelled and demolition extending deeper into Lebanese territory [1]. Lebanon's Ministry of Health says Israeli attacks since 2 March across the country have killed at least 3,696 people and injured 11,413 others [3]. The organisation found that Israel has also expanded a self-declared no-return zone in southern Lebanon, with satellite imagery showing widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure [1].
Trump Criticises Israeli Actions at G7
Trump criticises Israel for killing civilians in Lebanon during G7 summit. — Source: middleeasteye US President Donald Trump has criticised Israeli conduct in southern Lebanon, saying too many people have been killed in Lebanon and suggesting Israeli tactics were disproportionate and indiscriminate. "You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they're not all Hezbollah," he said at the G7 summit [2]. He added that overall Israel had been fighting with the Lebanese armed group for too long [2]. Trump's comments come amid growing tensions between the US and Israel over the recently announced memorandum of understanding to end the conflict with Iran [2].
Settler Attack on West Bank Mosque
Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Jiljiliya north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Osama Abdullah, head of the village council in Jiljiliya, said settlers set fire to the ablution room, caused damage to the village's main mosque, and scrawled hostile slogans on the outer walls [4]. Graffiti in Hebrew had been scrawled on the walls, including some reading "vengeance" and "hi from the Hilltop Youth" [4]. The United Nations recently warned that Israeli settler violence, backed by the Israeli military, in the occupied West Bank has reached record levels, with an average of six attacks daily causing casualties or damage [4].
Israeli Response and Amnesty Recommendations
The Israeli military rejected Amnesty's findings, saying it issues advance warnings rather than mandatory evacuation orders and claiming there is no prohibition on Lebanese civilians returning to their homes [1]. However, Amnesty pointed to recent statements by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz that Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and that those areas would be cleared of residents [1]. The organisation called for a permanent ceasefire, Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, accountability for violations of international law and the suspension of arms transfers that could facilitate further abuses [1].
What to watch next: Displaced Lebanese civilians have begun returning to their homes in the south despite little clarity over whether Israel would end its attacks and outright refusals to withdraw forces from the region, while Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel and Israeli strikes in Lebanon including in Beirut's southern suburbs continue.
