UNHRO calls for probe into Israeli airstrike in N. Lebanon - Exclusive
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The UN's human rights office says it calls for a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation into the Israeli strike on the Lebanese town of Aitou, which killed 22 people.
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A torn plush bear doll is strewn past debris and rubble at the site of a previous Israeli air strike on the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
The United Nations Human Rights Office confirmed Tuesday it had received reports that the majority of the 22 victims of an Israeli airstrike on a building in northern Lebanon were women and children.
"What we are hearing is that amongst the 22 people killed were 12 women and two children," Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office told Al Mayadeen's correspondent during a press briefing in Geneva in response to inquiries regarding the Israeli massacre in the town of Aitou in the Zgharta district on Monday.
The Israeli raid targeted a house where displaced civilians had sought refuge. The Lebanese Health Ministry's Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) revealed that DNA tests were being done to identify the martyrs who were torn into pieces following the aggression.
"We understand it was a four-story residential building that was struck. With these factors in mind, we have real concerns with respect to IHL (International Humanitarian Law), so the laws of war, and the principles of distinction proportion and proportionality," he expressed.
"Our office calls for a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation into this incident."
During the same briefing, Rema Jamous Imseis, Director for the Middle East at the UN refugee agency, expressed alarm over new Israeli evacuation orders affecting 20 villages in southern Lebanon, highlighting that over a quarter of the country is now impacted.
"Now we have over 25% of the country under a direct Israeli military evacuation order," she said. "People are heeding these calls to evacuate, and they're fleeing with almost nothing."
Israeli aggression on Lebanon continues, killing four in Jarjouh
Israeli occupation forces continue committing harrowing massacres in various regions across Lebanon, more than two weeks after the significant escalation of aggression, which has been particularly targeting displaced civilians in supposed safe areas of refuge.
The Israeli aggression thus continues stretching from the South to the North, the Bekaa Valley, and even into the heart of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house early today in the town of Jarjouh in the Tyre district.
The Israeli occupation forces focused their strikes on the Al-Owaida hill and surrounding hills opposite the town of Taybe, as well as the Deir Seryan area in the Marjeyoun district.
Additionally, Israeli warplanes launched attacks on the Ain Al-Samahiya area, located between the towns of Zawtar and Mayfadoun, and on the western part of Zawtar, as well as areas between the towns of Houmine Al-Fawqa and Roumin in the Nabatieh district, and in the town of Haneen in the Bint Jbeil district. Other targeted locations included the town of Khiam, the Marjeyoun plain, and Kfar Chouba.
'Israel' targets motorcycle in airstrike
Concurrently, an Israeli drone also conducted a strike this morning, using a guided missile to target a motorcycle near a parking lot in Kfar Sir, with no reported injuries, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).
The Israeli forces further targeted the towns of Kfar Rumman and Brayqe' in southern Lebanon with guided missile strikes.
Moreover, Israeli warplanes bombed a house in the town of Al-Qusayba with an airstrike, reducing it to rubble.
In the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes launched multiple strikes last night around the city of Baalbek and the towns of Ali Al-Nahri, Al-Ain, and Sha'th, targeting civilian areas and health centers.
Israeli warplanes reportedly used cluster munitions and toxic gases in their bombardment, leading to the closure of several main roads.
The Israeli attacks on the Bekaa region alone have resulted in the killing of 328 people since the start of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon.
Read more: IOF attacks on Lebanon first responders potenial war crimes: Intercept
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
