The French court opens a war crimes investigation into an Israeli airstrike that killed the parents of Lebanese artists in Beirut The French judicial authorities in Paris have officially opened a war crimes investigation targeting the IDF for a deadly airstrike at the end of 2024 on a residential building in Beirut, according to AFP. The opening of the investigation follows a criminal lawsuit filed by the French-Lebanese visual artist Ali Cheri, whose parents were killed when Israeli forces bombed their home in the Lebanese capital. The complaint accuses the Ministry of War and Israeli commanders of committing war crimes and targeted attacks against civilians, leveraging France's universal jurisdiction laws, which allow local courts to prosecute serious violations of international law involving French citizens. Cherry's legal representatives stressed that the intended apartment building houses non-combatants and does not contain military infrastructure, making the bombing a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions. Human rights lawyers who worked on the case noted that the official opening of the investigation opens the door for French court judges to issue subpoenas, collect forensic evidence, and possibly issue international arrest warrants for Israeli operational commanders involved.

The French court opens a war crimes investigation into an Israeli airstrike that killed the parents of Lebanese artists in Beirut The French judicial authorities in Paris have officially opened a war crimes investigation targeting the IDF for a deadly airstrike at the end of 2024 on a residential building in Beirut, according to AFP. The opening of the investigation follows a criminal lawsuit filed by the French-Lebanese visual artist Ali Cheri, whose parents were killed when Israeli forces bombed their home in the Lebanese capital. The complaint accuses the Ministry of War and Israeli commanders of committing war crimes and targeted attacks against civilians, leveraging France's universal jurisdiction laws, which allow local courts to prosecute serious violations of international law involving French citizens. Cherry's legal representatives stressed that the intended apartment building houses non-combatants and does not contain military infrastructure, making the bombing a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions. Human rights lawyers who worked on the case noted that the official opening of the investigation opens the door for French court judges to issue subpoenas, collect forensic evidence, and possibly issue international arrest warrants for Israeli operational commanders involved.