Middle East updates: Israel rejects HRW's war crimes claim

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein denied allegations by Human Rights Watch that Israeli forces forcibly displaced Gazans and that their actions amounted to crimes against humanity.

"Time and again, Human Rights Watch's rhetoric regarding Israel's conduct in Gaza is completely false and detached from reality," Marmorstein wrote on X.

He said that contrary to claims in the HRW's report, Israel's efforts are directed "solely at dismantling Hamas's terror capabilities and not at the people of Gaza."

In its report, HRW said it had gathered evidence that Israeli officials were "committing the war crime of forcible transfer."

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two or three unknown assailants fired about 30 shots in the direction of its patrol.

"The peacekeepers fired back from their vehicles and moved to safety. No one was hurt and there was no damage to the vehicles," the UNIFIL said is a statement on X.

Earlier in the day, the patrol that had been fired upon discovered a cache of ammunition near the roadway, according to the statement.

It is unclear whether the discovery of the weapons cache and the attack are directly related, UNIFIL said, adding that it has launched an investigation.

Peacekeepers reminded the Lebanese authorities of their responsibility to ensure the safety of peacekeepers and urged them to conduct a full and complete investigation into this incident.

UNIFIL has previously reported coming under attack from Israeli forces.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has cost Lebanon $8.5 billion (€8 billion) in damages and losses, according to the World Bank report. The final figure is expected to be much higher as the conflict continues.

Lebanon faces an estimated economic loss of $5.1 billion over the period from October 8, 2023 to October 27, 2024. The losses are "largely concentrated in the commerce and tourism and hospitality sectors... as well as in the agriculture sector," the report said.

Meanwhile, direct physical damage in Lebanon amounts to at least $3.4 billion, according to the World Bank's Damage and Loss Assessment. The conflict "damaged an estimated 99,209 housing units," mostly in Lebanon's war-torn south near the border with Israel, it said.

The conflict is also estimated to have reduced Lebanon's real GDP growth by at least 6.6% in 2024 and to have cost some 166,000 people in Lebanon their jobs.

The final cost to Lebanon of the damage and losses associated with the conflict is expected to be significantly higher than the $8.5 billion total estimated in the report, the World Bank warned.

Lebanon was already in a major economic crisis before Israel launched its air and ground attacks.

Two separate reports make serious allegations against Israel regarding its methods of warfare in Gaza.

A report by a UN special committee covering the period from Hamas's deadly October 7 terror attack in Israel last year through to July found that Israel's actions were consistent with genocide and said that the country had used "starvation as a method of war."

The committee pointed to "mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians." The report also documented how Israel's extensive bombing campaign in Gaza had decimated essential services and unleashed an environmental disaster.

Earlier, Human Rights Watch said in a separate report that Israel had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including massive forced displacements.

The report said the widespread, deliberate demolition of homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza was likely to "permanently displace" many Palestinians. 

"Such actions of the Israeli authorities amount to ethnic cleansing," Human Rights Watch said. 

There was no immediate comment from Israel on either report.

Syrian state media has reported the deaths of at least 15 people after two Israeli airstrikes on neighborhoods in western Damascus.

The SANA news agency reported the deaths and said another 16 people had been wounded in the strikes, citing an unnamed military official.

SANA reported that the airstrikes hit the Mazzeh neighborhood and the suburb of Qudsaya, northwest of the capital.

An Associated Press journalist reported that a five-story building in Mazzeh had been damaged by a missile that struck the basement.

Israeli strikes on Syria since 2011 have mainly targeted military positions and Iran-backed fighters, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday rejected a proposal from top EU diplomat Josep Borrell to suspend political dialogue with Israel over its war in Gaza and Lebanon.

"We are always in favor of keeping channels of dialogue open. Of course, this also applies to Israel," German news agency DPA quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying in response to Borrell's plans.

The ministry said that the political dialogues under the EU-Israel Association Council provided a regular opportunity to discuss matters of compliance with international humanitarian law.

It went on to say that breaking off dialogue would not help anyone on either the Palestinian or the Israeli side.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that at least 43,736 people have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The Hamas-run ministry said the toll included 24 recent deaths over a 24-hour period, and said 103,370 people had been wounded in the Palestinian territory since the war began.

Israel launched its Gaza operation after the Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 people. 

The figures, which don't include the number of Hamas fighters killed, are deemed largely reliable by the UN.

In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said it has evidence that suggests that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza by forcing civilians to leave their homes in droves with no prospect of ever returning.

"Human Rights Watch found that forced displacement has been widespread, and the evidence shows it has been systematic and part of a state policy. Such acts also constitute crimes against humanity," the report said.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have had to move multiple times since Israel invaded the enclave in October 2023 following Hamas' attacks on Israeli civilians.

In the past month, tens of thousands of people living in northern Gaza have been forced to flee again after Israel announced its intention to create military "buffer zones."

Human Rights Watch said the displacement of Palestinians "is likely planned to be permanent in the buffer zones and security corridors," an action it said would amount to "ethnic cleansing."

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Palestinians from northern Gaza would be allowed to return at the end of the war. However, thousands of homes have been destroyed in Israeli strikes.

The southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, were hit by an airstrike early in the morning following an Israeli warning to evacuate.

The Israeli military has said the area is a bastion for Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, whose tensions with Israel have flared again in recent months.

"You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests against which the [Israeli military] will operate in the near future," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.

Overnight, Lebanese authorities said six people had been killed in Israeli strikes near the capital, while Israel said six of its soldiers had died fighting in southern Lebanon.

Outgoing European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed suspending political dialogue with Israel over its war in Gaza, EU diplomatic sources have confirmed to DW.

"Based on available reports of independent international agencies there are reasons to consider that Israel is violating human rights and international humanitarian law" in Gaza, the source said.

Since 2000, political dialogue between the two has been regulated by the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which states that relations are to be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

Several EU states, such as Ireland and Borrell's native Spain, have been calling for a review of the bloc's ties with Israel over concerns about civilian casualties and forced displacement in Gaza.

However, it's considered unlikely that Borrell's suggestion will be implemented. Such a step requires unanimous agreement from all member states, and both Hungary and the Czech Republic have indicated they will stand firmly on Israel's side.

es/lo (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters, DW sources)