Responding to the news that the French War Crimes Unit has opened a judicial investigation into a deadly November 2024 Israeli strike on a civilian building in central Beirut, following a legal complaint filed by French-Lebanese artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri and the International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International’s Regional Director Heba Morayef said:
The opening of this judicial investigation by the French War Crimes Unit is a critical, long-overdue step towards making a dent in the wall of pervasive impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces for war crimes committed in Lebanon.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International
“The opening of this judicial investigation by the French War Crimes Unit is a critical, long-overdue step towards making a dent in the wall of pervasive impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces for war crimes committed in Lebanon.
“For victims and their families, this case offers a rare and vital avenue for truth, justice, and long-awaited accountability through a European court.
“Amnesty International’s research into this strike research found no effective advance warning was given and uncovered no evidence of a military objective in the vicinity, concluding that the attack must be investigated as a war crime. Since October 2023, Amnesty International has documented repeated unlawful attacks by the Israeli forces in Lebanon, yet victims continue to be denied justice, truth or reparations.
“As Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon continue and civilians continue to bear the cost of displacement and destruction of civilian property, states must use every available legal avenue, including extraterritorial jurisdiction, to ensure that all those suspected of criminal responsibility are brought to justice in fair trials and that impunity does not prevail.”
Background
The civil complaint was filed on 1 April 2026 before France’s War Crimes Unit by French-Lebanese filmmaker Ali Cherri and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) following the 26 November 2024 strike on the Cherri building in Beirut’s Nouweiri neighbourhood.
The attack killed seven civilians, including Ali Cherri’s parents Nadira Hayek (78) and Mahmoud Naim Cherri (88) and their Iive-in helper Birki Negesa.
Amnesty International’s February 2025 investigation established that at 5:30 p.m. on 26 November 2024 – 10 and a half hours before a ceasefire came into effect, an Israeli air strike hit a 12-story apartment building in Nouweiri neighbourhood, Beirut, killing at least seven civilians, all residents of the building, and caused three floors of the building to collapse and severely damaged a fourth. The organization found that no effective advance warnings were given and found no military objectives in the vicinity, providing reasonable grounds to conclude that the attack breached international humanitarian law and should be investigated as a war crime.
Ali Cherri was able to file the complaint before the French War Crimes unit due to his dual French-Lebanese nationality. Given that jurisdictional basis, the appointed investigative judges will therefore investigate the bombing of his apartment in Beirut on charges of “intentionally directing an attack against a civilian object, amounting to a war crime” according to the case file.
Since October 2023, the death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon has reached 8,956, with 30,664 injured according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, as of 30 October 2026.