Amnesty International called on Wednesday for an investigation into Israeli military attacks on health facilities during the Lebanon war and labeled them as war crimes.
Amnesty International’s investigation focused on four Israeli attacks in Beirut between October 3 and 9, 2024, which killed 19 healthcare workers, wounded 11 more, and destroyed multiple ambulances and two medical facilities. Amnesty found no evidence that the IHA used the targeted facilities and vehicles for “terrorist activities” at the time.
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, said:
When a health system is attacked, civilians suffer. Even when hospitals are thought to be used for military purposes and lose their protected status under international law, they can only be attacked after a warning that gives sufficient time for the evacuation of patients and staff goes unheeded. An attacking party remains at all times bound by the principle of proportionality, weighing the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from an attack against the expected harm to civilians and civilian objects, including the reverberating humanitarian consequences resulting from the attack
Amnesty International called for an investigation into these attacks as war crimes. Guevara stated that “the new Lebanese government must grant the International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction”.
The Rome Statute of the ICC defines war crime as “intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in humanitarian assistance”.
Under the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines, states must provide effective remedies for victims of international humanitarian law violations. These include reparation, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.
During the 2024 Lebanon war, the Israeli military repeatedly targeted health facilities and medical vehicles without providing sufficient justifications. The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of using the Islamic Health Association (IHA), a civilian institution affiliated with Hezbollah, as a cover for “terrorist activities”. They claimed ambulances were used to transport fighters and weapons.
The IHA provides emergency services across Lebanon. It serves as the primary healthcare provider in areas that Israel repeatedly attacked.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that between October 2023 and November 2024, the Israeli military attacked 67 hospitals, 56 primary healthcare centers, and 238 emergency medical teams. At least 222 workers were killed in these attacks.
Amnesty International wrote to the Israeli military on November 11, 2024, seeking a solution based on the UN Basic Principles. However, it had not received a response. In early 2025, the IHA informed Amnesty International that Israeli forces had killed 155 paramedics and destroyed 43 emergency centers during the war.
A recent report by Human Rights Watch found that Israeli attacks against Lebanon have damaged significant infrastructure, preventing thousands of Lebanese from returning home. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon also previously found that the Israeli military’s destruction of property in Ras Naqooura, southern Lebanon, violated international law.