International Reactions Condemn Brutal Use of Force Against Protesters

Lebanese anti-government protesters gather by the barricaded road leading to parliament in central Beirut on January 19, 2020 amid heavily deployed security forces. © Patrick Baz, AFP
Lebanese anti-government protesters gather by the barricaded road leading to parliament in central Beirut on January 19, 2020 amid heavily deployed security forces. © Patrick Baz, AFP
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International Reactions Condemn Brutal Use of Force Against Protesters

Lebanese anti-government protesters gather by the barricaded road leading to parliament in central Beirut on January 19, 2020 amid heavily deployed security forces. © Patrick Baz, AFP
Lebanese anti-government protesters gather by the barricaded road leading to parliament in central Beirut on January 19, 2020 amid heavily deployed security forces. © Patrick Baz, AFP

A wave of international condemnation emerged following reports of excessive force used by Lebanese security forces against protesters in Beirut.

Hundreds of casualties were reported in the past two days as police and security members used rubber bullets to target protesters from a close distance, in contravention of international regulations, which stipulate that those should be launched at a minimum distance of 40 meters.

According to diplomatic reports that included identical information received in Beirut from New York, Washington, Paris, and Geneva, “the competent Lebanese authorities must pay attention to these actions that violate human rights.”

Reports noted that the authorities had so far dealt with “acceptable measures to provide protection to the crowds, but they used excessive force when demonstrators blocked roads or attacked security forces.”

A minister in the caretaker government underlined the need to inform the delegates of the member-states of the International Group to Support Lebanon of the outcome of the security meeting held at the Baabda Palace on Monday, in the presence of President Michel Aoun.

The minister said that the United Nations and the League of Arab States should also be aware of the country’s efforts to maintain security and political stability, “because these countries and organizations are closely watching protests in Beirut and the rest of the region.”

“The ambassadors of foreign and Arab countries in Lebanon should be invited to the Ministry of the Interior or to the Directorate of Internal Security Forces in order to hear an explanation of the reasons for taking new measures to deal with protest groups,” the minister noted, adding that a large number of rioters must be arrested to prevent harming peaceful demonstrators.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.