Amnesty International Reports on Human Rights Violations by Both Sides in Israel-Lebanon War

Amnesty International’s report, “Deliberate Destruction or ‘Collateral Damage’? Israeli Attacks against Civilian Infrastructure” points to an Israeli policy of deliberate destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure, which included war crimes, during the recent conflict.

“Israel’s assertion that the attacks on the infrastructure were lawful is manifestly wrong. Many of the violations identified in our report are war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks,” said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of AI.

“The pattern, scope and scale of the attacks makes Israel’s claim that this was ‘collateral damage’, simply not credible,” said Gilmore.

Amnesty International has also published a report called: “Under Fire: Hezballah’s Attacks on Northern Israel,” claiming that Hezbollah committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes, in its deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians during the same conflict.

During the month-long conflict, Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel. Around a quarter of all rockets were fired directly into urban areas.

“The fact that Israel has also committed serious violations in no way justifies violations by Hezbollah. Civilians must not be made to pay the price for unlawful conduct on either side,” said AI’s Secretary General Irene Khan.

Amnesty International has urged the UN to establish a full and impartial investigation into violations committed by both sides in the conflict.