Israeli evacuation orders, housing destruction in Lebanon consistent with Gaza domicide: UN experts
UN experts have censured the Israeli evacuation orders, besides the destruction of residences that civilians have returned to in southern Lebanon, as consistent with the regime’s pattern of domicide during its genocidal war on Gaza.
“The issuance of blanket evacuation orders, combined with the destruction of urban and village housing that displaced persons would have returned to, is consistent with the pattern of domicide that was initiated during the genocide in Gaza,” the experts warned on Wednesday.
They said the deliberate destruction of homes is a weapon of war and a form of collective punishment, particularly in Shia-populated areas in the rural south of the country. “It also points to ethnic cleansing.”
“Forced displacement of a civilian population constitutes crimes against humanity and is a war crime under international law,” the experts said.
The UN experts also strongly condemned Israel’s illegal aggression and indiscriminate bombings against Lebanon on 8 April.
“We are witnessing the continuing utmost contempt for the international legal order, for diplomacy, and above all for the lives of civilians and the environment in Lebanon,” the independent experts said.
They further argued that Israel chose the very moment the ceasefire between Iran and the United States — something which Pakistani mediators stated also applied to Lebanon — was announced to unleash the largest coordinated wave of strikes on the Arab nation since 1980.
“This is not self-defense. It is a blatant violation of the UN Charter, a deliberate destruction of prospects for peace, and an affront to multilateralism and the UN-based international order,” they said.
The experts urgently called on Israel to immediately cease all offensives in Lebanon, comply with the ceasefire framework and Security Council Resolution 1701, withdraw its forces, enable the safe return of displaced persons, and engage in direct negotiations with Lebanon.
They also asked the United States to use its influence to ensure Israel halts strikes on Lebanese civilians and infrastructure without delay.
Israel has carried out new airstrikes on civilian targets and multiple towns in southern Lebanon, leaving several people killed and injured and resulting in widespread destruction.
Moreover, all UN member states were urged to suspend arms transfers to Israel while there is credible evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
The experts finally asked the international community to support Lebanon’s humanitarian response, including funding the USD 308 million Flash Appeal.
Since the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel on November 27, 2024, Israel has repeatedly violated Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Within a 10-minute onslaught on April 8, 2026, Israeli forces struck more than 150 locations simultaneously across Lebanon, killing at least 303 people and wounding 1,150 others. Hundreds remain under the rubble.
Many strikes hit densely populated residential neighborhoods and commercial areas in central Beirut in violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality and the obligation to take all feasible precautions under customary international humanitarian law (IHL).
The strikes caused severe environmental damage by releasing toxic air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, contaminating water systems, and destroying ecosystems through fires, debris, and chemical residues.
According to the Lebanese government, the Israeli army has killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon, including health workers and journalists, and injured 6,588 others since March 2.
Over one million people have been displaced, amounting to approximately one in five of Lebanon’s population, of which an estimated 140,682 are in overcrowded shelters.
