Evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli military to residents of southern Beirut and south Lebanon were inadequate and, , misleading, according to Amnesty International. The human rights organization said these warnings do not absolve ‘Israel’ of its obligations under international law to avoid targeting civilians and take all possible measures to minimize harm.
Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard stated that the warnings to residents of the densely populated Dahieh suburb of Beirut were insufficient. The warnings, issued via social media less than 30 minutes before strikes, included misleading maps and failed to provide clear timelines or safe evacuation routes.
AMNESTY INVESTIGATES: Evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli military to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut and south Lebanon were inadequate, and in some cases also misleading.
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— Amnesty International (@amnesty) October 10, 2024
Similarly, the blanket warnings for entire towns and villages in southern Lebanon raised concerns that they were intended to trigger mass displacement rather than protect civilians. Callamard emphasized that people who choose to stay or are unable to leave must still be protected under international humanitarian law.
Amnesty’s analysis of over a dozen evacuation warnings found that the designated “danger zones” on the maps were much smaller than the 500-meter radius advised by the Israeli occupation military. Residents reported chaotic evacuations, with some unable to leave due to mobility issues of elderly or disabled family members.
The human rights group stressed that effective warnings must provide timely, clear instructions to allow civilians to safely move away from targeted military objectives. Broad orders to evacuate entire areas do not meet this standard under international law.
It also noted that “the heavy loss of life in Lebanon in recent days raises concerns that Israeli occupation forces are violating their obligation to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians wherever they may be, including by issuing effective warnings.”
After spending the past 12 months investigating war crimes committed by “Israel” in the Gaza Strip, Amnesty International “is deeply concerned that Israel may seek to repeat the approach it took in Gaza, which resulted in unprecedented harm to civilians.”
This comes as the Israeli occupation has been waging a large-scale aggression on Lebanon for 18 consecutive days, attacking cities and residential suburbs in Beirut, the south, the Bekaa and the mountains, committing bloody massacres, most of the time without any warnings or warnings.
What Amnesty International has said confirms that the warnings issued by the occupation “army” are nothing but misleading warnings, as the occupation, which is based on brutality and destruction, does not care about the warnings and does not adhere to the scope it has set, but rather publishes the warnings as part of a media campaign to justify its crimes.
Source: Amnesty International
