Lebanon: Israeli attacks hinder aid to fleeing civilians

(Beirut) – Israeli airstrikes on the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria on October 4, 2024 are complicating the escape of civilians and disrupting humanitarian operations, Human Rights Watch said today. The situation poses a great danger to the civilian population.

The Israeli military released a statement on October 4 saying the Masnaa border crossing was attacked because Hezbollah was using it to transfer weapons. An Israeli attack on a legitimate military target may still be unlawful if it is expected to cause immediate harm to civilians that is disproportionate to the expected military gain. If Hezbollah forces used the border crossing to transfer weapons, they also may not have taken all possible precautions to protect the civilian populations under their control.

“By making a border crossing inaccessible while hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing fighting and many others are in need of assistance, the Israeli military threatens to cause significant harm to the civilian population,” said Lama Fakih, head of the Middle East and North Africa Human Rights Department. “Even if this crossing is used for military purposes, Israel would have to consider the expected civilian damage versus the expected military gain from the attack.”

On October 2, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), citing national authorities, reported that approximately 177,000 Syrians and 63,000 Lebanese nationals had entered Syria via land borders from Lebanon to escape the fighting. Before the attack, the border crossing was also used to deliver humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

The Israeli attacks disrupted the main road between Lebanon and Syria, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that the border crossing, which was the main route for civilians fleeing Lebanon into Syria, was closed following the attack became. Reports on October 4 indicated some people were still walking across the road, helping each other carry small children and luggage while avoiding craters in the road.

In statements to the media on October 4, Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamieh said that the attack on Lebanese territory had made inaccessible the road that civilians used to flee the country. Aid workers told the BBC that the road’s destruction was also hampering the delivery of food and humanitarian aid.

“The volatile security situation and ongoing Israeli airstrikes are disrupting and delaying aid deliveries,” said Rula Amin, a UNHCR spokeswoman, during a media briefing on the morning of October 4 in Geneva. She said an airlift carrying medical trauma kits and a shipment from Amman containing over 20,000 thermal blankets were held up.

Human Rights Watch geolocated and analyzed videos and photos of the attack site posted on social media. They show three craters cutting through all three lanes of the Beirut-Damascus highway, about 500 meters east of the Masnaa border crossing on Lebanese territory and five kilometers from the Syrian border.

On October 3, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that Hezbollah was transporting weapons from Syria to Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing. He said the Lebanese government should control trucks entering Lebanon and deny entry to those carrying weapons. He also referred to Israeli attacks the week before at other border crossings that he said were used by Hezbollah.

On September 26, the Israeli military also attacked a bridge at the Matraba border crossing connecting Lebanon with Syria, claiming that Hezbollah was using the crossing to transport weapons. In statements to the media, the border crossing director said eight border guards were injured as a result of the attack.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the following day that the Israeli military had carried out a second attack on the border crossing, injuring four members of Syria’s military intelligence and rendering the crossing unusable.

After the Israeli military’s allegations were made public, Hamieh, the Lebanese transport minister, said the government had monitored all border crossings.

UNCHR said the other four official border crossings between Lebanon and Syria – al Arida, Joussieh, Daboussieh and Jesr Al Qmar – remained open.

In an Oct. 3 statement posted to his , struck without determining the location of the truck.

The attacks follow an Israeli media report on September 28 that the Israeli military had decided to impose a military lockdown on Lebanon and that Israel had attacked bulldozers attempting to repair border crossings.

Human Rights Watch has not verified whether and to what extent Hezbollah used the Masnaa border crossing or other border crossings for military purposes.

However, attacks on civilian objects such as roads or border crossings are subject to the rules of proportionality even if they become military targets and therefore make an effective contribution to military action.

Disproportionate attacks include those that are expected to cause excessive harm to civilians and civilian objects in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage expected to result from the attack. These attacks are banned under the Laws of war and Israel Defense Forces should at all times ensure, when attacking, that the risks to civilians do not outweigh the expected military advantage.

The laws of war do not prohibit sieges or blockades of enemy forces, but they cannot include the deliberate prevention of civilians’ access to essential supplies such as water, food and medicine. The parties to the conflict are prohibited from blocking or hindering the evacuation of civilians wishing to flee, unless there are special security reasons or compelling military reasons.

The UN should urgently launch an international investigation into hostilities in Lebanon and Israel and UN member countries should support it. The United Nations and member countries should ensure that investigators are dispatched promptly to collect information and make findings on violations of international law by belligerents and make accountability recommendations.

In April, the Lebanese Council of Ministers ordered the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit a declaration to the Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC) recognizing the court’s jurisdiction over serious crimes committed on Lebanese territory since October 7, 2023.

However, the ministry never complied and the government eventually reversed its decision. Recognizing the ICC’s jurisdiction through a declaration would give the court’s prosecutor the mandate to investigate serious crimes committed in Lebanon, regardless of the nationality of the suspects. Lebanon should urgently transfer jurisdiction to the ICC so that the court’s prosecutor can investigate serious international crimes, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch called for Israel’s key allies to end their military aid and arms sales to Israel because of the real risk that they will be used to commit serious human rights abuses. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have prevented civilians from fleeing the Gaza Strip and from delivering urgently needed aid to them. In doing so, they disregard the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and impose a siege that amounts to a punishment collective punishment and the use of hunger as a weapon of war.

Governments, including the United States, should ensure that preventing atrocities by all parties is at the heart of their response to hostilities. US President Joe Biden committed early in his term to conducting atrocity risk assessments in such situations and is required to report to Congress on these efforts. The U.S. government should seriously examine the warning signs in Lebanon and mobilize other partners to do so.

“Amid Israeli military attacks on populated civilian areas across Lebanon that have killed over 1,400 people in just a few weeks, civilians are desperately trying to reach safety by crossing into Syria,” Fakih said. “Israel’s allies risk engaging in unlawful attacks if they continue to provide weapons and other material support despite the obvious risk of atrocities.”