Blanket evacuation orders in Lebanon raise International law concerns, says UN human rights Chief

UN rights chief warns that Israel’s mass evacuation orders in southern Lebanon and Beirut suburbs could violate international humanitarian law, citing the forced displacement of thousands.

Olivia Le Poidevin/Reuters

6 March 2026 at 09:34:30

People displaced from the southern suburbs of Beirut after the Israeli army's warning prompted residents to evacuate, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, rest at Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Lebanon, March 6, 2026.

Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Large scale evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs raise serious concerns under international law, the UN human rights chief said on Friday.

"These blanket, massive displacement orders we are talking here about hundreds and thousands of people," said United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk.

"This raises serious concern under international humanitarian law, and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer," he added.

-Olivia Le Poidevin/Reuters

The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, warns that Israel’s large-scale evacuation orders for southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs may violate international humanitarian law, citing risks of forced displacement affecting thousands.