LONDON, 17 June. - (ANA) - Israel's mass evacuation orders and restrictions on civilians returning to their homes in southern Lebanon amount to unlawful transfer, a war crime under international humanitarian law, according to a new investigation by Amnesty International.

 

The rights group found that the Israeli military had dramatically expanded its use of mass "evacuation" and "no-return" orders since 2024, displacing hundreds of thousands of people across Lebanon and preventing tens of thousands from returning to their homes in the south.

 

Amnesty's investigation, which analysed Israeli military orders published on X, interviews with displaced residents and satellite imagery, concluded that Israel used evacuation orders as a deliberate tool to depopulate large areas of southern Lebanon while continuing to destroy homes and civilian infrastructure.

 

The organisation found that Israel significantly expanded the scale and frequency of evacuation orders during the 2026 escalation compared with 2024.

 

Within the first 48 hours of the escalation, the Israeli military ordered residents to leave all areas south of the Litani River, covering around 8.5% of Lebanon. Days later, it expanded the order to areas south of the Zahrani River, affecting territory home to roughly 800,000 people.

 

 

According to Amnesty, Israel has also expanded a self-declared "no-return zone" in southern Lebanon. Three days after the 17 April ceasefire, the Israeli military designated a "Forward Defence" zone extending eight to 12 kilometres into Lebanese territory and covering around 600 square kilometres, equivalent to about 6% of Lebanon's land area. Residents of dozens of villages were barred from returning.

 

The organisation said satellite imagery showed widespread destruction inside the zone, with entire municipalities along the border largely levelled and demolition extending deeper into Lebanese territory.

 

"Israel's forced displacement and prevention of return of tens of thousands of civilians from southern Lebanon amounts to unlawful transfer, which is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and thus a war crime," said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

 

Amnesty said international humanitarian law permits evacuations only in exceptional circumstances and requires that they be temporary, conducted safely, and followed by the return of civilians once hostilities cease. The organisation argued that the continued exclusion of residents from large areas of southern Lebanon violates those obligations.

 

The Israeli military rejected Amnesty's findings, saying it issues advance warnings rather than mandatory evacuation orders and claiming there is no prohibition on Lebanese civilians returning to their homes.

 

However, Amnesty pointed to recent statements by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz that Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and that those areas would be cleared of residents.

 

The organisation called for a permanent ceasefire, Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, accountability for violations of international law and the suspension of arms transfers that could facilitate further abuses.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/17 June 2026 - - -