Geneva, A group of UN experts has strongly condemned Israel’s alleged extrajudicial killings of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and six others in Lebanon last week. The killings, conducted using lethal drones, were deemed violations of international law and labeled as crimes of murder.
According to Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN experts criticized these actions, expressing grave concerns over the extraterritorial use of lethal force by Israel. The experts also criticized threats by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to target Hamas leaders globally, emphasizing that all states are prohibited from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life in military or security operations abroad, including in counter-terrorism efforts.
The experts highlighted that killings on foreign territory are considered arbitrary under international law when not authorized. They pointed out that Israel had not presented any evidence that the victims were committing an armed attack on Israel from Lebanese territory, thus not exercising self-defense. Israel’s failure to provide legal justification for the strike or report it to the Security Council, as required by Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, was also noted.
The UN experts clarified that while Israel may have legitimate legal grounds for military operations against Hamas in Gaza in response to attacks, this does not extend to authorizing strikes in Lebanon or other countries. The absence of a legal basis for geographically unlimited attacks against members of an armed group wherever they may be was stressed.
The UN panel also referenced Israel’s history of assassinating suspected terrorists abroad, including the killing of a Hamas member in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 and preventive strikes on Hezbollah in the Syrian civil war. They urged Israeli police and courts to bring to justice those involved in these alleged murders.
Furthermore, the experts warned that the Israeli strike in Lebanon constituted a dangerous escalation of the Gaza conflict, a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and a prohibited use of military force against Lebanese territory, contrary to Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. They reiterated the repeated declarations of the Security Council, General Assembly, and Human Rights Council that states must respect international law when countering terrorism.
The United Nations has recognized terrorism as a threat to human rights, and the experts emphasized Lebanon’s duty to prevent the use of its territory for terrorist acts against Israeli civilians. They also called upon other states, including Iran and Syria, to refrain from supporting terrorist activities directed against Israeli civilians.
The experts concluded by urging the Security Council to effectively respond to actions by any state in the region that threaten international peace and security.