Campaigners seek probe of deadly Lebanon strike

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said an Israeli strike that killed a Lebanese reporter’s sister and her three young granddaughters should be investigated as an “apparent war crime”.

The border area between the two countries has seen daily exchanges of fire, in particular between Iran-backed group Hezbollah and Israel, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month.

On November 5, an Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed the sister of radio correspondent Samir Ayoub and her three granddaughters, aged 10, 12 and 14, Lebanese state media said.

“This attack by Israeli military forces that struck a car carrying a family fleeing violence shows a reckless disregard for civilian life,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a statement.

“Their killing is a violation of the laws of war, and Israel’s allies, like the United States, should respond to this apparent war crime by demanding accountability for this unlawful strike,” Kaiss said.

Human Rights Watch said it found no evidence of a military target in the vicinity of the strike.

“But if there were one, targeting a car carrying civilians… makes the strike unlawful,” Kaiss said.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati had denounced the attack at the time as an “abhorrent crime committed by the Israeli enemy” and saying the cars had been targeted by drones.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari has said “Hezbollah targets were attacked in the north in response to an anti-tank missile attack that killed an Israeli civilian”.

Hagari added that among the targets hit by Israel were “vehicles” and that aircraft destroyed the launch site for a long-range missile.

At least 88 people have been killed in Lebanon since hostilities began: more than 60 Hezbollah fighters, 12 other combatants including from Palestinian groups, and 11 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Cross-border violence since October 7 has killed nine people in northern Israel including six soldiers, according to official figures.

Another seven Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria in strikes attributed to Israel.