Israel’s extensive destruction of Southern Lebanon
The Israeli military has extensively destroyed and damaged civilian structures and agricultural land in southern Lebanon between 1 October 2024 and 26 January 2025.
The destruction was carried out by the Israeli military with manually laid explosives and bulldozers both before and after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect on 27 November 2024, while the Israeli military had full control of the relevant areas and without apparent “imperative military necessity” – the standard required under international humanitarian law (IHL) to justify the destruction of civilian or cultural property outside the context of attacks. Amnesty International therefore concluded that these actions violated applicable rules of IHL particularly the prohibition of destruction of the property of an adversary and the prohibition of destruction of cultural property. Any such destruction should be investigated as a war crime where it was carried out intentionally or recklessly.
The visual evidence shows that Israeli troops deliberately left a trail of destruction as they moved through southern Lebanon. Among the structures affected are homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and football pitches. In one village, satellite imagery showed the Star of David, a Jewish symbol, carved into the ground.
The Israeli military justified some of the destruction saying that they were preventing future attacks, and that the civilian structures damaged or destroyed had previously been used by Hezbollah fighters, stored weapons or stood above tunnels.
In some instances, Israeli soldiers filmed themselves engaging in this destruction. Residents of the villages later watched. “Israel blew [my house] up. All of it. And they filmed the explosion,” 66-year-old Adiba Finsh, who left her village in March 2024, said. “They made a video of themselves counting from five to one, and when the explosion happened, they shouted: ‘Wow! Yay!’ I watch this video every day.”
Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab, the organization’s digital investigations team, verified 77 videos and pictures published on social media by Israeli soldiers, activists and the media between 1 October 2024 and 26 January 2025 and analysed satellite imagery to monitor areas with significant physical changes over time. The Evidence Lab also gathered statements issued by the Israeli military and Hezbollah on their official channels, as well as news reports, and analysed data collected by other organizations to develop a timeline and conduct a contextual analysis. Amnesty International also conducted interviews with 11 residents of southern Lebanon’s border villages, including local officials and municipal authorities, who described the phases of destruction and evacuations experienced in their villages. The organization also collected and verified videos and photos shared by residents and environmental activists documenting the status of houses, civilian structures, and villages before and after the destruction.
Amnesty International sent questions regarding the destruction of civilian structures and agricultural land to the Israeli authorities on 27 June 2025. At the time of publication, no response had been received.
Amnesty International’s research reveals that more than 10,000 structures were heavily damaged or destroyed between October 2024 and January 2025. In three municipalities, Yarine, Dhayra and Boustane, the Israeli military heavily damaged or destroyed more than 70% of all structures. The Israeli military destroyed most of the sites when it was in control of the relevant areas, a strong indicative factor that the destruction occurred outside of active combat, and in apparent absence of imperative military necessity, as required under IHL. In two of the four months analysed, a ceasefire agreement was in effect.
Across southern Lebanon, the Israeli military made extensive use of manually laid explosives and bulldozers, which by their nature require access and area control. Visual evidence analysed by Amnesty International indicates there were no Hezbollah fighters inside the civilian structures at the time of destruction. In some cases where the Israeli military said they found weapons inside buildings, soldiers were able to move at least some of the weapons and lay them out for pictures before destroying the building that had apparently contained them. In at least one case, the Israeli military filled a tunnel with cement, showing they had viable alternatives to extensive destruction of civilian structures located nearby.
The extensive destruction of property had devastating impacts for civilians. Zeinab, who left her village Kfar Kila in late 2023 following Israeli air strikes, told Amnesty International that, months after the ceasefire went into effect, “Now, there is no one in Kfar Kila, our village is completely deserted. The villagers, including me, go to Kfar Kila only to visit the dead or re-bury our relatives who died during the war… We brought them back to our land. Only the dead returned to Kfar Kila”.
Farrah Berrou, another resident from Kfar Kila, said, “My heart is burning for the trees more than anything, because some are older than the house and have been there since my great-grandparents… Nine hundred trees, all gone… These homes and groves were the last remnants of my grandparents, which is why this is so painful for my dad and his siblings. Losing a house is like losing a family member all over again.”
Given the Israeli military’s trail of destruction, many residents of southern Lebanon have no homes to return to. The Israeli authorities should provide prompt, full and adequate reparations to victims, including individuals and communities, of violations of IHL and war crimes. Reparations should be provided to direct and indirect victims, including individuals or their family members who were harmed by Israel’s unlawful conduct, including civilian property damage and destruction which violated IHL.
The government of Lebanon should immediately explore all possible legal routes, including setting up a domestic reparation mechanism and demanding reparation from parties to the conflict. The government should also seriously reconsider providing the International Criminal Court (ICC) with jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes under the Rome Statute committed on Lebanese territory.
All states, but in particular the United States, should immediately suspend all arms transfers and other forms of military assistance to Israel due to the significant risk that these weapons could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international law.