GENEVA – UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today urged renewed efforts to bring a permanent end to hostilities in Lebanon, saying the continued suffering inflicted on the population despite an agreed ceasefire, including the killing of over 100 civilians in the past 10 months, is tragic and must stop.
Since the ceasefire of 27 November 2024, the Lebanese Armed Forces say Israel has committed thousands of violations of the agreement, including alleged attacks on civilians and home demolitions; while the Israel Defense Forces has been quoted as confirming hundreds of airstrikes on what it claims were Hezbollah targets.
“We are still seeing devastating impacts of jet and drone strikes in residential areas, as well as near UN peacekeepers in the south,” the High Commissioner said.
“Today, families are simply unable to make a start on rebuilding their homes and their lives, and instead are faced by the real and present danger of more strikes. Hundreds of damaged schools, health facilities, places of worship, among other civilian sites, are still no-go zones, or at best, only partly useable.”
In one of the deadliest strikes, five people, including three children, were killed when an Israeli drone struck a vehicle and a motorcycle in the border area of Bint Jbeil on 21 September. The High Commissioner called for an independent and impartial investigation into the incident, along with other incidents which raise concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law.
Up until the end of September, the UN Human Rights Office has verified 103 civilians killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire. There have been no reports of killings from projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel since the ceasefire.
More than 80,000 people remain displaced in Lebanon as a result of the ongoing violence, Türk added, saying the situation for migrants and refugees already living in dire conditions before the conflict has deteriorated further. Some 30,000 from northern Israel reportedly remain displaced.
“At all times during the conduct of hostilities, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and international humanitarian law fully respected, irrespective of claims of breaches of a ceasefire,” Türk said.
“Good faith implementation of the ceasefire is the only path towards a durable peace, and its terms need to be respected. I urge all parties to double down on transitioning to a permanent cessation as laid out by the UN Security Council,” he added, referring to resolution 1701 which was unanimously adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
