A resident of the village of Aita al-Shaab holds roses amidst the rubble on Jan. 26, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L’Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Amnesty International said in a report published Wednesday that Israel expanded the 'no-return' zone it occupies in Lebanon to approximately 6% of its territory, as part of what the group described as a broader use of unlawful mass evacuation and no-return orders that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The report outlined that Israel's use of mass displacement orders in Lebanon had significantly increased in 2026, with residents in southern Lebanon subjected to repeated “everybody-leave” orders and later prevented from returning to their villages located inside Israel’s unilaterally declared no-return zone.
The international human rights organization said that, in parts of southern Lebanon, Israel's forced displacement of civilians and the prevention of "tens of thousands" from returning constituted as "unlawful transfer which, as a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, amounts to a war crime."
Amnesty said its findings were based on an investigation combining analyses of Israeli military orders issued to Lebanese residents in posts on X since 2024, interviews with displaced residents from areas inside no-return zones, and open-source analysis.
It added that the Israeli military had issued far more mass evacuation orders in 2026 than in 2024, affecting larger areas and more residents.
“In 2026, as in 2024, Israel’s indiscriminate orders came without measures to ensure the well-being and safety of evacuees, failed to provide meaningful information or guidance for civilians to make informed decisions about whether and for how long to flee, and were never revoked, even after hostilities in areas subject to these orders ceased, as required under international humanitarian law,” said Kristine Beckerle, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Instead of forcibly uprooting communities and designating entire swathes of Lebanese land as no-go zones for civilians, Israeli forces must immediately withdraw from Lebanese territory. Those displaced must be allowed to safely and freely return to their lands, and Israel must provide reparation for victims of its international humanitarian law violations, including those whose homes Israel unlawfully destroyed,” Beckerle said.
According to the report, the Israeli military’s no-return zone expanded in 2026. Three days after the April 17 cease-fire announcement, the Israeli military published a map designating a “Forward Defense” zone extending 8 to 12 kilometers into Lebanese territory and covering around 600 square kilometers of land and sea.
The group said the area now covered approximately 6% of Lebanon’s territory, compared to around 4.6% under the previous no-return zone map issued in November 2024.
The April 2026 map listed 74 villages, Amnesty said, barring residents from returning to 53 villages and restricting movement in others.
The Israeli military had also carried out extensive destruction inside the no-return zone since 2024, with satellite imagery showing almost full-scale clearing of towns and villages along the border.
The organization said it analyzed 447 Israeli military orders issued between September 2024 and May 2026. Of these, 135 were mass “evacuation” orders issued during the 2026 war, and 61 were no-return orders.
L’Orient Today's count, published in early May, found that the Israeli army issued 152 evacuation threats between March 2 and April 16, including 84 targeting specific buildings and 68 covering broader geographic areas.
'Israeli military denies that it had issued mandatory evacuation orders'
For its part, the Israeli military denied that it issued mandatory evacuation orders, telling Amnesty that it had issued “advance warnings to civilians,” which were not mandatory orders but “recommendations.”
The Israeli military claimed in its letter to the group that “there is no prohibition on Lebanese civilians returning to their homes.”
The report cited comments by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on June 15, after reports of a possible cease-fire agreement between Iran and the U.S. involving Lebanon, in which he said Israeli forces “will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza without any time limit,” and that these zones would be “cleared of local residents and all terror infrastructure…including the houses in the contact-line villages that served as terror outposts…”
Amnesty said international humanitarian law prohibits forced displacement of civilians except in limited circumstances, and that any evacuation must be temporary, carried out safely, and allow civilians to return once hostilities end.
“Two and a half years on, it is critical for the international community to act; states must push for a durable and sustainable cease-fire, press the Israeli military to withdraw from Lebanese territory, activate national and international accountability and justice mechanisms, and suspend all transfers of arms and military equipment to Israel that would facilitate violations of international law,” said Beckerle.
The report added that the investigation was the first in a series examining violations of international law during the 2026 war in Lebanon.
As of June 7, the Social Development Ministry reported that over one million people remain displaced by Israeli attacks and threats. The Health Ministry said that Israeli attacks had killed more than 3,700 people since the escalation began on March 2, amid continued exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
