France's war crimes unit has accepted a complaint regarding an incident on November 26, 2024. This marks the first case in a French court concerning Israeli bombings in Lebanon, filed by Lebanese-French artist Ali Cherri after his parents and a domestic worker were killed in a strike on his family home. Cherri is demanding an investigation to classify the attack as a war crime against civilians and identify those responsible.
The incident occurred in November 2024, just hours before a ceasefire was established between Hezbollah and Israel. Three floors of an apartment building in central Beirut were destroyed, with no evacuation warnings issued. Among the dead were Cherri's 86-year-old father Mahmoud Naib Cherri, 76-year-old mother Nadira Hayek, and their employee Birki Negesa. Cherri stated, "We never thought something like this could happen. My parents did everything to protect us."
Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture conducted investigations, finding no evidence of a military target at the strike site and identifying the use of a GBU-39 guided bomb. This weapon is produced by the United States and commonly used by Israel in attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Forensic Architecture emphasized that the analysis highlights the targeted nature of the attack and demonstrates the Israeli army's responsibility.
The civil complaint in France is seen as a "rare opportunity" to hold Israel accountable for war crimes in Lebanon. Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, "Amidst a pattern of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces and the general impunity they enjoy, this case offers a rare chance to examine Israel's actions in a European court."
Cherri links his lawsuit to renewed hostilities, as Israel's aerial campaign and ground invasion of Lebanon in March 2025 have resulted in over 1,300 deaths. Photographer Mohammed Shehab, who worked with Forensic Architecture, and his three-month-old daughter were also killed in an Israeli strike in March under "similar circumstances" to the Cherri home bombing. Cherri noted, "Either you accept being a victim and your fate, or you take it as a responsibility for all the other people who can't go through this legal process."
Source: www.theguardian.com