A man searches through the rubble for objects in a building hit by Israeli strikes in Sour, a coastal city in southern Lebanon, on June 23, 2026. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — A new complaint accusing Israel of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Lebanon has been filed with the French judiciary, according to Le Monde.
The complaint against persons unknown was filed on June 30 by lawyer Emmanuel Daoud on behalf of Mohammad H., a 42-year-old French-Lebanese man living in France.
According to the complaint, an Israeli strike without prior warning on a residential building in Sour killed Mohammad H.'s mother, sister, and two nephews in the middle of the night on April 17. His father remains in critical condition.
It is the second complaint of its kind filed in France. The first was submitted by artist Ali Cherri to the crimes against humanity unit of the Paris Judicial Court, in which he stated that an Israeli missile strike on Nov. 26, 2024, destroyed an apartment he owns and killed his parents, aged 87 and 77. No investigation has yet been opened in that case.
In the June 30 complaint, excerpts of which were published by Le Monde, Daoud argued that the crimes "should not be viewed in isolation." He said that they form part of "an Israeli military campaign of such scope and systematic nature that it goes beyond a single, isolated operation," characterized by "repeated strikes on civilian areas, the systematic absence of warning and the targeting of residential buildings," which he described as "a documented and recurring modus operandi."
"It is to this overall campaign that the acts described below are necessarily connected," the complaint stated.
For the second time in less than three years, war erupted on March 2 between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in Lebanon after Hezbollah launched missiles into northern Israel in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Feb. 28.
The escalation led to renewed ground fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, as well as a large-scale Israeli war on the country and the occupation of a significant portion of its south. Israel's destruction has been more extensive than during the previous war in 2024.
The Israeli army claims its attacks target Hezbollah fighters and military infrastructure. Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed 4,297 people, including 135 health workers, 391 women, and 253 children, according to the Health Ministry.
It also claims it issues evacuation warnings through its Arabic-language spokespersons, urging residents to leave specific areas and buildings before strikes. As of May 9, L'Orient-Le Jour had counted only 150 evacuation warnings for approximately 3,500 Israeli strikes.
Legal avenues before international bodies may also be affected by the framework agreement signed last week between Lebanon and Israel in Washington. Article 13 of the agreement, which has sparked significant political and legal controversy, commits both sides to refrain from "hostile or prejudicial acts in international political or legal forums."
Lebanese nationals residing abroad, however, may still pursue legal action before the courts of their countries of residence, as Mohammad H. and Cherri have done in France.
As Le Monde noted, French courts may exercise jurisdiction over international crimes — including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide — committed abroad under certain conditions, under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
