BEIRUT: Amnesty International accused Israel on Thursday of “misleading” and sometimes inadequate calls for residents to evacuate parts of the country, expressing concern the warnings intend to massively uproot southerners.
Since September 23, Israel has launched an intense air campaign that has killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon and displaced over a million more from their homes, according to official figures.
“Warnings issued by the Israeli military to residents of Dahiyeh, the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut, were inadequate,” Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
The group said it analyzed more than a dozen evacuation warnings and maps and conducted interviews with residents of south Beirut and south Lebanon.
Callamard said the warning included “misleading maps” and were issued “at short notice — in one instance less than 30 minutes before strikes began — in the middle of the night, via social media” when many are asleep, she added.
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson has been routinely issuing evacuation orders online ahead of expected strikes mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.
“Israel’s warnings in southern Lebanon covered large geographical areas, raising concerns as to whether they were designed instead to trigger mass relocation,” Amnesty said.
“The conditions being created by Israel’s actions in south Lebanon risk forcibly displacing the majority of the civilian population there,” it added.
Last week, Israel also announced it was conducting “targeted” ground incursions in Lebanon’s south.
Analysts had previously told AFP Israel’s aim in expanding its activity at the border could be to create a buffer zone in Lebanon’s south, where Hezbollah holds sway.
Israel has issued calls to evacuate 118 south Lebanon towns and villages in the first week of October, Amnesty said.
The group warned that evacuation calls “do not make south Lebanon a free-fire zone” where remaining civilians as seen as targets and urged Israel to abide by international law to minimize harm to civilians.
One quarter of Lebanese territory is under Israeli military displacement orders, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
On September 27, an Israeli air strike killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who had led the group for 32 years, in the group’s south Beirut stronghold.
The latest escalation followed a year of near-daily fire between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, which the group launched in support of ally Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza.
Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘misleading’ Lebanon evacuation orders
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Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘misleading’ Lebanon evacuation orders
- Callamard said the warning included “misleading maps” and were issued “at short notice — in one instance less than 30 minutes before strikes began”
- “The conditions being created by Israel’s actions in south Lebanon risk forcibly displacing the majority of the civilian population there,” Amnesty said
GCC states ‘face reliance on Saudi Arabia for food imports’
- With 70 percent of food coming through Strait of Hormuz, analysts warn of inevitable shortages
DUBAI: Some Gulf states may have to rely on overland food deliveries from Saudi Arabia if the US-Israel-Iran war continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and restrict regional airspace, analysts warned on Thursday.
The region is up to 90 percent dependent on food imports, and price surges and scarcity of some goods are expected.
“With over 70 percent of GCC foodstuffs being imported through the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf states face shortages if the war persists,” said Neil Quilliam of the Chatham House think tank.
“While GCC countries have taken steps to diversify suppliers and ensure sufficient stores to withstand disruption, this can only last several months. At this point, price increases and longer lead times will start to hit the markets.”
Commodities analyst Ishan Bhanu said: “The biggest immediate effect will be due to the blockade of Jebel Ali in Dubai, serving about 50 million people. Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq effectively become landlocked and will depend on overland routes through Saudi Arabia.”
Bottlenecks are yet to show and the UAE has said its strategic reserves of vital goods cover four to six months of needs. It urged residents to report unjustified price increases through a dedicated hotline.
Supermarket staff throughout the Gulf said shelves remain largely stocked, though suppliers are taking longer to replenish certain products. Iran’s strikes on the Gulf since Saturday prompted panic buying in supermarkets, a dry run for what could come.
“Perception of risk matters, and even if stocks are sufficient now, public runs on supermarkets can spook the public,” Quilliam said.
