Israel-Lebanon framework agreement draws rights groups’ criticism over war crimes accountability

Amnesty International and five human rights and press freedom organizations said the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, signed in Washington on June 26, 2026, threatens to betray victims of war crimes in Lebanon. The groups said parts of the text appear to be aimed at preventing victims of serious international crimes from seeking justice before international forums. Other parts, they said, seem to accept the prolonged and indefinite forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents of large areas of southern Lebanon occupied by Israeli forces.

The groups said the agreement follows months of hostilities that caused immense civilian harm, including harm resulting from war crimes, violations of international humanitarian law and gross human rights abuses. They pointed to Clause 13, which commits the governments of Israel and Lebanon to the cessation of “all hostile or adverse actions in international political or legal fora.” The groups said that if the agreement were interpreted to prevent Lebanon and Israel from using international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, it would contradict both countries’ international legal obligations to pursue accountability for serious international crimes committed on their territories. They also said the agreement does not appear to commit Israel to halt any initiatives in international forums against Hezbollah.

According to the groups, Clause 3 further violates international law and the prohibition of forced displacement. It conditions the return of residents to specified zones along the border, which are currently occupied by Israel, on the “successful disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of their infrastructure.” The groups said international humanitarian law requires that people be allowed to return once hostilities have ended or the reasons for their displacement cease to exist.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: “Time and time again, we have seen civilians in Lebanon pay the price for successive cycles of conflict and serious violations and crimes under international law with no accountability. Victims of war crimes and other violations deserve justice. Any agreement that fails to center their rights to justice, accountability and reparations will falter underneath the very impunity it builds.” She added that “States that claim to uphold the international legal order must speak out: justice, reparation and respect for international law in Lebanon and beyond are non-negotiable.”

Since 2023, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Legal Agenda, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), the Union of Journalists in Lebanon and other rights groups have documented what they describe as repeated violations of the laws of war and apparent war crimes by the Israeli military in Lebanon. These include apparent direct attacks on civilian objects and civilians, indiscriminate and other unlawful attacks that killed medical personnel, journalists and entire families, and the unlawful use of white phosphorus, which causes severe burns, over residential areas. In a recent report, Amnesty International found that the Israeli military had forcibly displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians, committing the war crime of unlawful transfer, while continuing extensive destruction of civilian property and infrastructure that began in 2024 across southern Lebanon. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also documented Hezbollah’s firing of unguided rockets at northern Israel, which they said unlawfully killed and injured civilians.

In a February 2026 open letter to Lebanon’s deputy prime minister and justice minister, rights and media groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, Legal Agenda, CLDH and the Union of Journalists in Lebanon called for decisive action from Lebanon’s government to secure justice, accountability and reparations for victims. The groups urged Lebanon to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and to file a declaration accepting the court’s jurisdiction under article 12(3) to investigate and prosecute crimes under international law committed on Lebanese territory since at least October 7, 2023. They also called for prompt, thorough, independent and impartial domestic judicial investigations and for Lebanon’s parliament to adopt a law criminalizing war crimes and other international crimes. Wadih Al Asmar, President of CLDH, said: “It is imperative that Lebanon promptly provides the ICC with the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute such crimes. Any delay amounts to tolerance of impunity and further injustice for victims.”

Hostilities escalated again in March, according to the groups. A team from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is already deployed in Lebanon at the request of Lebanese authorities, documenting alleged violations of international humanitarian law and human rights since March 2. Under OHCHR’s terms of reference, to which Lebanese authorities agreed, the team would “examine options for accountability that may be available” and “safely document, preserve and secure all information collected together, with a view to enhancing its use in future accountability processes.”

Lama Fakih, Program Director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Not only does this agreement risk further entrenching impunity, but it includes a clause that signals that political expediency outweighs the fundamental rights of those who have suffered atrocious violations. It risks denying justice to victims at a time when mounting evidence points to repeated unlawful Israeli attacks causing extensive civilian harm and widespread destruction.” Lebanon’s Health Ministry has reported that since October 8, 2023, more than 8,700 people, including at least 569 children and 357 medical workers, have been killed in Lebanon. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said that Israeli forces repeatedly targeted and killed identifiable journalists covering the war. Israeli media have reported that Hezbollah attacks have killed at least 32 civilians in Israel.

Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced in Lebanon following displacement orders issued by the Israeli military, which has also occupied nearly 600 square kilometers of Lebanon’s border villages and prohibits residents from returning. The groups said that although the agreement notes that both countries recognize the importance of “the safe return of [southern Lebanon’s] civilian population,” it makes the return of residents and reconstruction contingent on conditions subject to “confirmation.” They said the agreement makes no mention of justice or reparation for victims of serious violations, including those subjected to unlawful transfer and those whose homes and agricultural lands were unlawfully destroyed. Civilians who cannot return home are among the most exposed, and the groups’ statement calls for those without a voice to be defended (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Elsy Moufarrej, President of the Union of Journalists in Lebanon, said: “The Lebanese government has conceded a right that is not its right: the right of the victims to pursue and hold the perpetrators accountable. This is the right of the people who lost their loved ones, whose homes and memories were destroyed. This is the right of those who performed their duties despite the dangers, like journalists and emergency medical workers.”

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