Overview

• Amnesty International’s new briefing alleges Israeli forces heavily damaged or destroyed more than 10,000 structures from Oct 1 to late January, with much of the devastation occurring after the Nov 27 truce.
• Researchers documented the use of manually laid explosives and bulldozers across 24 municipalities against homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and soccer pitches, with some videos showing soldiers celebrating demolitions.
• Amnesty argues many demolitions occurred outside active combat and without imperative military necessity, which it says would violate international humanitarian law and should be investigated as war crimes.
• The group says it sent detailed questions to Israeli authorities on June 27 without receiving a reply, while Israel maintains it targets Hezbollah and has continued strikes and kept troops in some border areas despite the truce.
• Amnesty calls for reparations to victims and for states to suspend arms transfers to Israel, as Lebanon faces an estimated $14 billion in war-related economic losses including $6.8 billion in physical damage, and UN experts have criticized civilian harm during the ceasefire period.