A complaint filed in France seeks a war crimes investigation into an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment building that killed seven civilians, including the parents of a French-Lebanese artist, hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in November 2024.
The case was submitted on Thursday to France’s specialised war crimes unit by artist Ali Cherri and the International Federation for Human Rights, known as FIDH.
It targets unknown perpetrators over the strike in Beirut’s Noueiri neighbourhood at around 5:30pm on 26 November, 2024.
The attack destroyed Cherri’s ninth-floor apartment, as well as flats on the seventh and eighth floors. Among those killed were his parents, Mahmoud Naim Cherri, aged 88, and Nadira Hayek, aged 78, along with domestic worker Birki Negesa and at least four other residents.
“We want an investigation to help us clear up the facts and understand why civilians were targeted in this horrific way,” Cherri told The Associated Press news agency.
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No warning
The complaint argues that bombing a civilian building could amount to a war crime under French law and international humanitarian law. It draws in part on analysis by the research group Forensic Architecture and documentation from Amnesty International.
Amnesty said its investigation found no evidence of a military target in or near the building at the time of the strike and that civilians received no effective advance warning. It said the attack should be investigated as a war crime.
“If War Crimes Unit prosecutors open an investigation into this complaint, this would offer a rare opportunity to examine Israel’s actions in a European court, given the general impunity it usually enjoys,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Israel’s foreign ministry referred questions to the military, which did not immediately respond. Israel’s military has previously said it follows international law and targets only military objectives.
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French jurisdiction
FIDH said French courts do not have jurisdiction over the killings themselves because the victims were not French nationals. However, it said Cherri’s dual French-Lebanese nationality allows French authorities to investigate the bombing of property he owned.
The group added that no legal proceedings have been launched in Lebanon or elsewhere over the attack.
“As a son, a citizen and a victim, it is my duty to ensure that this war crime committed by the Israeli army is recognised for what it is, so that it may be brought to justice – for my parents and for all the civilians killed that day,” Cherri said in a FIDH press release.
“Justice cannot undo death, but seeking justice means refusing to let impunity lead to the destruction of other lives.”
Cherri told AP: “It’s going to be a long process, and probably with no cooperation from the Israelis. But it’s important to seek justice and to stop the cycle of impunity.”
(with AP)
