Israel’s strikes on Lebanon need urgent legal probe, says UN, as hundreds of thousands flee
Huge numbers of civilians have already left their homes, some with only the clothes on their backs, amid fatal attacks and evacuation orders
The United Nations on Friday demanded swift investigations into fatal Israeli strikes across Lebanon to decide if they followed international law.
“The devastating impact of this renewed conflict is already before our eyes, with civilians paying a painfully heavy price,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“We urge the parties to step back from the brink of a major escalation of this conflict in Lebanon.”
Her comments came as fresh Israeli strikes battered Lebanon, where Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned “a humanitarian disaster is looming” due to mass displacement.
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Shamdasani warned that “Israel’s military ground incursions into southern Lebanon, blanket displacement orders for the population in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekaa region and the full area to the south of the Litani river, and its continued air strikes on different parts of the country, are bringing more misery and suffering to an already weary civilian population”.