Head Of UN Refugee Agency Calls Air Attack In Lebanon Violating Humanitarian Law

The head of UNHCR Grandi visited residents who fled due to war in Lebanon. (Twitter/@PhilippoGrandi)

JAKARTA - Head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said on Sunday Israel's airstrikes against Lebanon violated international humanitarian law (HHI) by hitting civilian infrastructure and killing civilians.

"Unfortunately, many examples of international humanitarian law violations in the way airstrikes have been carried out that have destroyed or damaged civilian infrastructure, have killed civilians, have had an impact on humanitarian operations," he told media in Beirut.

Grandi was in Lebanon as the country struggled to contain the evacuation of more than 1.2 million people due to the expansion of Israeli air and land operations which it said targeted the militant group Hezbollah.

Previous fighting was largely limited to the Israeli-Lebanon border region, along with Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian Hamas group.

Grandi further said all parties in the conflict and those who had an influence on them should "stop the massacres that occurred both in Gaza and in Lebanon today".

Grandi said the World Health Organization (WHO) briefed him "on gross HHI violations, especially against health facilities that have been affected in various locations in Lebanon."

Attacks on civilian homes may also be a violation, although the matter requires further assessment, he said.

More than 2.000 people have been killed and nearly 10.000 injured in Lebanon in fighting nearly a year, mostly in the past two weeks, the Lebanese health ministry said. Meanwhile, Israel said about 50 civilians and soldiers were killed.

Israel said it was targeting military capabilities and taking steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, accusing Hezbollah and Hamas of hiding among civilians, militants denied. Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities say civilians have been targeted.

The fighting has caused about 220,000 people to cross Lebanese borders with Syria, 70 percent of whom are Syrian citizens and 30 percent of Lebanese, Grandi said, adding it was a conservative estimate.

Israel's bombing on the main border with Syria in Masnaa on Friday was a "big challenge" for the continuing flow of people, he said.