Israeli attack on Lebanese rescuers was ‘unlawful’

Human Rights Watch said Tuesday an Israeli attack in Lebanon that killed seven first responders was “an unlawful attack on civilians” and called on Washington to stop arms sales to Israel.

There have been almost daily clashes between the Israeli army and Hamas ally Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border area since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, triggering a war in Gaza.

“An Israeli attack on an emergency and relief center” in the southern village of Habariyeh on March 27 “killed seven emergency and relief volunteers” and constituted an “unlawful attack on civilians in which all necessary precautions were not taken,” HRW said in a statement.

“If the attack on civilians was carried out intentionally or recklessly, it should be investigated as a blatant war crime,” it said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment when contacted by AFP.

But at the time, the military said the target was “a military compound” and that the attack killed a “significant terrorist” from Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese group affiliated with Hamas, and other “terrorists.”

HRW said in the statement that it had found “no evidence of a military target at the site” and said the Israeli strike “targeted a residential building where the Emergency and Relief Corps of the Lebanese Succor Association, a non-governmental humanitarian Organization, was housed”. .

Jamaa Islamiya later denied having any connection with the rescue workers and the club told AFP that it had no connection to any Lebanese political organization.

HRW said “the Israeli military’s admission that it attacked the center in Habariyeh” shows that “every possible precaution was not taken to verify whether the target was a military target and to account for the loss.” to avoid civilian loss of life…which made the attack unlawful.”

The human rights group said those killed were volunteers, adding that 18-year-old twin brothers were among the dead.

“Family members… the Lebanese Succor Association and Civil Defense all said that the seven men were civilians and did not belong to any armed group,” it said.

However, it noted that social media content suggested that at least two of those killed “may have been followers” of Jamaa Islamiya.

HRW said images of weapon parts found at the site included the remains of an Israeli bomb and remnants of a “lead from the U.S.-based Boeing Company.”

“Israeli forces carried out an attack using a U.S. weapon that killed seven civilian aid workers in Lebanon who were simply doing their jobs,” said Ramzi Kaiss, HRW Lebanon expert.

The human rights group called on the United States to “immediately stop arms sales and military aid to Israel if there is evidence that the Israeli military is unlawfully using U.S. weapons.”

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