Israeli attacks on Lebanon may amount to war crimes, UN rights office says

Israeli attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon may amount to war crimes, the United Nations human rights office says as the Israeli military pummels its northern neighbour as part of the wider war engulfing the Middle East.

At a news briefing on Tuesday in Geneva, a spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said hundreds of homes and other buildings, including healthcare facilities, have been destroyed in intensified Israeli strikes on the capital, Beirut, and other parts of the country.

Thameen al-Kheetan noted that displaced Lebanese civilians living in tents along the Beirut seafront were killed in Israeli strikes while other attacks since early March also have killed at least 16 health workers.

I am a US citizen & Surgeon who took care of the Boston Maraton Bombing victims in 2013. I paid for 7 years to own a small apartment in downtown #Beirut for my 3 kids to enjoy summers there. Today, #Israel reduced my dream home to rubble, with american weapons, paid by my taxes. pic.twitter.com/E6Ab1T769w

— Haytham Kaafarani (@hayfarani) March 18, 2026