Lebanese‑French Artist Sues Israel in Paris Court Over 2024 Beirut Bombing That Killed His Parents

A Lebanese‑French visual artist, Ali Cherri, has lodged a formal complaint with the French war‑crimes unit in Paris, accusing Israel of committing a war crime after a 2024 airstrike on his family home in Beirut killed his parents and a domestic worker.

The filing marks the first time a French court has taken up a case concerning Israel’s bombing of Lebanon and is an unusual move by an individual to pursue war‑crimes accountability.

Israel has faced repeated accusations of violating international humanitarian law in Lebanon and Gaza, including attacks on civilians, medical facilities and forced displacement, yet no Israeli officials have been prosecuted to date.

Cherri said, "Our demand is that an investigation is opened so that we know for a fact what happened, to name this attack as a war crime against civilians, and hopefully be able to name the people responsible."

The apartment, built by his grandparents in central Beirut, was struck a few hours before a cease‑fire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect on 26 November 2024. The 13‑month conflict had already claimed roughly 4,000 Lebanese lives.

The blast, which gave no prior evacuation warning, destroyed three floors, killing Cherri’s 86‑year‑old father Mahmoud Naib Cherri, 76‑year‑old mother Nadira Hayek, their employee Birki Negesa and four other civilians.

In February, Amnesty International’s investigation concluded there was no military target at the time of the strike and urged that the incident be examined as a war crime.

Forensic Architecture, a UK‑based investigative group that helped draft the complaint, produced a 3‑D reconstruction of the building and identified the munition as a GBU‑39 guided bomb – a 250 lb US‑made weapon frequently used by Israel in Lebanon and Gaza.

The analysis underscored the targeted nature of the attack and, according to the group, demonstrated direct responsibility of the Israeli army.

Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, called the French civil complaint “a rare opportunity” to hold Israel accountable in a European court, given the usual impunity.

The case arrives amid renewed hostilities: on 2 March Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel, prompting an Israeli aerial campaign and ground invasion that has killed 1,318 people so far.

Photographer Mohammed Shehab, who collaborated with Forensic Architecture on the Cherri investigation, was himself killed in an Israeli strike on 11 March, which also claimed his infant daughter’s life and wounded his wife – an incident the group described as “circumstances similar” to the Cherri bombing.

While Cherri doubts any Israeli officials will face criminal charges, he insists that filing the suit is a moral duty to give a voice to victims who cannot pursue legal recourse themselves.