French judges open war crimes probe into 2024 Israeli strike in Beirut
Paris court appoints two investigating judges after artist Ali Cherri's complaint over the strike that killed his parents and five others.
What to know
- This is reportedly the first French judicial investigation into an alleged Israeli army war crime in Lebanon since the war began in October 2023.
- The probe centers on a November 2024 strike that killed seven civilians, including Ali Cherri's parents, hours before the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire took effect.
- Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture research, citing a US-made GBU-39 bomb and no nearby military target, underpins the complaint.
- French jurisdiction is limited to the bombing of Cherri's apartment because he holds French nationality; other pending French cases cover separate strikes, olive-tree destruction, and Gaza flotilla interceptions.
“a first”
Clemence Bectarte, Lawyer for Ali Cherri and FIDH · Arab News / AFP ↗ · Nov 2
Ali Cherri Franco-Lebanese artist, civil party complainantClemence Bectarte Lawyer for Ali Cherri and FIDHInternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Human rights organization co-filing the complaintIsraeli army (IDF) Subject of the war crimes complaint
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Ali Cherri calls the probe a step toward ending impunity
Cherri told AFP the opening of the investigation was a major step for his family, while stressing the case speaks to broader impunity enjoyed by Israeli officials over attacks on civilians in Lebanon and Palestine.
“I hope that this investigation will help to break the impunity enjoyed by Israeli officials responsible for attacks against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine.”
— Ali Cherri -
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France has opened a war crimes inquiry into Israel’s 2024 bombing of artist Ali Cherri’s Beirut apartment, which killed his parents and five others. The case covers the attack on his property; French courts lack jurisdiction over his parents’ deaths.
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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French authorities open investigation into Israeli bombing of a residential building in Beirut that killed Ali Cherri's parents in 2024 https:// today.lorientlejour.com/articl e/1553085/french-authorities-open-investigation-into-israeli-strike-that-killed-ali-cherris-parents-in-2024.html
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Paris court appoints judges to probe the Beirut strike
The crimes against humanity unit of the Paris Judicial Court appointed two investigating judges to Cherri's case, marking what his lawyer called the first French judicial investigation into an alleged Israeli army war crime in Lebanon since October 2023.
“To our knowledge, this is the very first judicial investigation opened into the crimes committed by the Israeli army in Lebanon since October 2023…”
— Clemence Bectarte -
first by Times of Israel, 5d ago · also Middle East Eye, Courthouse News, Dawn, Al-Monitor, Arab News
3 more headlines
- French judges open war crimes probe into Israeli strike that killed seven in Beirut Middle East Eye · 5d ago
- French judges probe war crimes complaint against Israeli army in Lebanon: Lawyer Courthouse News · 4d ago
- French judges probe war crimes complaint against Israeli army in Lebanon Middle East Eye · 4d ago
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background
French anti-terrorism prosecutors request an investigation — The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT), which handles war crimes cases, asked for judicial investigations to be opened after identifying what a report described as "serious and consistent" indications the alleged offenses had been committed.
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background
Cherri and FIDH file a war crimes complaint in France — Ali Cherri filed a complaint as a civil party with the International Federation for Human Rights, drawing on an Amnesty International report published that month which found no evidence of a military target near the building and identified a US-made GBU-39 bomb at the site.
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Israeli strike on Beirut building kills seven civilians — Israeli forces struck a 12-storey residential building in Beirut's Noueiri district hours before the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire took effect, killing seven civilians including the 87- and 77-year-old parents of artist Ali Cherri and destroying three floors.