UN rights chief calls for arms freeze as report details widespread violations in Lebanon conflict

A car loaded with personal belongings drives through the coastal southern city of Sidon on Apr. 24, 2026, as displaced residents return home after an extention of the ceasefire. (AFP)

• Volker Turk urges all states to halt weapons transfers if there is a clear risk they could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law
• Report says latest hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel have had significant effects on human rights, including rights to life, health, education, food, housing and work

NEW YORK CITY: A UN human rights report published on Friday documented widespread deaths, displacements and damage to civilian infrastructure in Lebanon during the first three weeks of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, called on all states to halt arms sales or transfers where there was a clear risk they could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The report said the escalation in Lebanon, which began in early March, has had significant and ongoing effects on a broad range of human rights issues, including the rights to life, health, education, food, housing, work, a safe environment, freedom of movement, and freedom of religion or belief.
It found that Israeli military operations in Lebanon have included direct attacks on civilians, among them medical personnel. It detailed incidents in which Israeli strikes hit and leveled multistory residential buildings, killing entire families.
Such actions may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law, the report stated. Similar incidents have continued beyond the period under review, it added, including after a ceasefire was announced on April 16.
The report also documented the firing of unguided rockets by Hezbollah into residential areas in Israel, which damaged buildings and other civilian infrastructure. These strikes may also amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law, it said.
In many instances no warnings, or no effective warnings, were given of imminent Israeli attacks, the report said, which prevented civilians from being able to evacuate areas safely.
It added that evacuation orders that were broadly communicated by Israeli authorities, covering nearly 14 percent of Lebanon’s territory, had displaced more than a million people, according to Lebanese authorities. Given their scope and conditions, such orders might constitute forced displacement, it noted, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Fifty-five localities in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel remain under such displacement orders, the report said. Civilians wishing to return to their homes must be able to do so safely, it added.
The research also documented repeated incidents of deadly attacks on health care workers and journalists, including a strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday this week that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured photographer Zeinab Faraj.
Rescue teams, including members of the Lebanese Red Cross, who attempted to reach them reportedly faced obstruction by Israeli forces, including the use of a sound grenade and live fire targeting an ambulance, which delayed access to the site.
Medical personnel, journalists and other civilians in war zones are protected under international humanitarian law, and deliberately targeting them would constitute a war crime, the report said.
It further noted that civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, schools and religious sites, has been destroyed or severely damaged during the hostilities in Lebanon. Israeli attacks were reported to have burned or contaminated farmland, disrupting livelihoods and undermining the rights to food, work and a healthy environment.
The report also cited allegations that Israeli forces had used ammunition containing white phosphorus, which has highly incendiary effects.
The UN additionally expressed concern about rising communal tensions and reports of discriminatory practices that were hindering efforts by displaced people to access housing and other essential services.
Turk called for prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all alleged violations of international humanitarian law, for the findings to be made public and for those responsible to be held accountable.
He also called on all parties to ensure that the current ceasefire leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities and forms the basis for a lasting peace.