Paris judges probe 2024 Beirut airstrike in first French war crimes case
French investigators have been assigned to examine an Israeli strike that killed the parents of artist Ali Cherri, a move his lawyers describe as a precedent.
By Fiona Wallace ·
Two investigating judges from the Paris Judicial Court have been assigned to examine an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment building, marking the first formal French judicial inquiry into a complaint of war crimes against the Israel Defense Forces regarding the 2024 conflict in Lebanon.
The case stems from a complaint filed in spring 2026 by Ali Cherri, a French-Lebanese artist, and the International Federation for Human Rights, known as FIDH. Cherri, who filed as a civil party, lost both parents in the November 2024 attack. His lawyer, Clemence Bectarte, confirmed the appointment of the judges to AFP on Tuesday, calling the development a first for the French legal system in this context.
The strike occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. on November 26, 2024, in the Barbour district of central Beirut. According to the human rights group, the bombardment destroyed a ninth-floor apartment owned by Cherri, along with residences on the seventh and eighth floors. The victims identified by the organization include Cherri’s parents, Mahmoud Naim Cherri and Nadira Hayek, as well as a domestic worker named Birki Negesa.
Cherri has spent nearly two years advocating for the case. In statements to AFP, he said he is fighting to ensure the bombing that killed his parents and five other civilians does not go unpunished. He noted that the incident is part of a wider pattern of attacks against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine, expressing hope that the French investigation will help break the impunity enjoyed by Israeli officials.
The legal filing argues that the bombing of a civilian building could constitute a war crime under French criminal law and international humanitarian law. The complaint draws on analysis from human rights groups Forensic Architecture and Amnesty International. Amnesty International stated at the time that its investigation found no evidence of a military objective in or near the building during the attack. The organization also noted that civilians received no effective advance warning and called for the incident to be investigated as a war crime.
The IDF has not yet responded to recent requests for comment on the French investigation. The military has previously maintained that it follows international legal norms and strikes only legitimate military targets. Officials have stressed that Hezbollah operates within civilian areas, a factor they cite as complicating the distinction between military and non-military objectives.
The November 2024 strike took place hours before a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was due to take effect. That truce followed a low-level conflict that escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, involving Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Around 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon during that period, while 47 Israeli civilians and approximately 80 Israeli soldiers died.
Tensions reignited on March 2, 2026, after the US and Israel attacked Iran. Hezbollah resumed firing missiles across the border, prompting a new Israeli aerial campaign and ground invasion in Lebanon. To date, more than 1,200 people have been killed and more than a million displaced in the renewed fighting, according to Beirut authorities.
Source: The Times of Israel
