Lebanon files complaint with UN against Israeli attacks on the South
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Lebanon's permanent mission at the United Nations says the Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon amount to a "war crime".
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Civil defense and rescue workers remove rubbles from a building that was attacked Wednesday night by an Israeli airstrike, in Nabatiyeh town, South Lebanon, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 (AP)
Lebanon’s permanent mission to the United Nations has lodged a formal complaint to the UN Security Council against the Israeli attacks in South Lebanon, which killed at least 10 civilians in two Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country.
A statement published by Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants described these attacks that targeted civilian objectives as "the most aggressive and deadliest since October 8."
The submitted complaint detailed that an Israeli drone, using a guided missile, targeted a residential building in the city of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, resulting in the martyrdom of 10 people, including women and children.
The mission stated that these strikes amount to a "war crime" while addressing the rotating President of the Security Council Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
"While international humanitarian law guarantees protection of civilians and civilian facilities, Israel’s deliberate and direct bombing of civilians in their homes is considered a violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime," the complaint stated, adding that the airstrikes are “considered a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, as well as the safety of its lands and citizens."
It further emphasized that these attacks "breach upon all United Nations resolutions that require Israel to stop its violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and end its occupation of Lebanese lands, including Resolution 1701 (2006).”
The Israeli occupation targeted civilians in southern Lebanon
On Wednesday, an Israeli strike targeted and destroyed a building in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, killing seven members of the same family, including a child, with a boy initially announced dead later discovered alive under the rubble. In addition, a separate Israeli attack in Souaneh in southern Lebanon also killed a woman and two children.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah, has promised to respond to Wednesday’s strikes, stressing that "Israel" will "pay the price” for killing 10 people, almost half of whom are children in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah informed Reuters that “the enemy will pay the price for these crimes,” adding, “The resistance will continue to practice its legitimate right to defend its people."
The Israeli occupation forces have been carrying out attacks against Lebanon since October 7, prompting retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in defense of the Lebanese people. It has promised to keep on fighting the occupation as long as the latter continues its genocide against Gaza.
