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France’s War Crimes Unit has opened an investigation into an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment building that killed artist Ali Cherri’s parents, their domestic worker and at least four other civilians. The case follows a complaint Cherri filed seven months earlier; Amnesty International said it found no evidence of a verifiable military target at the site and said no evacuation warning was issued. The investigation’s scope and any findings have not been reported.
France’s War Crimes Unit has opened an investigation into an Israeli airstrike that hit a residential building in Beirut on November 26, 2024, killing the parents of French-Lebanese artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri, their domestic worker and at least four other civilians, according to Hyperallergic. The inquiry follows a complaint Cherri filed seven months earlier alleging that Israel committed war crimes in the attack.
The strike hit a 12-story apartment building in the Barbour neighborhood of Beirut. Cherri’s parents, Mahmoud Naim Cherri and Nadira Hayek, and domestic worker Birki Negesa were found in the wreckage of the artist’s ninth-floor apartment, where they lived. The report says at least four other civilians in the building were also killed.
Cherri and his representatives at the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) submitted a complaint alleging that Israel intentionally directed an attack against a civilian object. Their supporting material included findings from London-based research agency Forensic Architecture, which digitally reconstructed the building using documentation from Cherri and neighboring witnesses.
Amnesty International’s findings also informed the complaint. In a February report on Israeli conduct in Lebanon, the organization said it found no evidence of a verifiable military target at the site and concluded that Israeli forces did not issue an evacuation warning before the strike. Those are Amnesty’s findings; the opening of a French investigation does not by itself establish criminal responsibility or confirm the allegations.
A French Inquiry Into Civilian Deaths
The investigation gives a French judicial body a role in examining a strike that killed multiple people in a residential building, including the parents of an artist who brought a complaint in France. Its findings could help establish what happened at the site and whether the evidence supports the allegation that the building was unlawfully targeted.
The case also draws on a combination of witness documentation, digital reconstruction and human-rights research. These materials may be relevant to investigators assessing the strike, the building’s civilian status and whether any military objective was present. The inquiry matters beyond Cherri’s family: it concerns the protection of civilians in urban conflict and how allegations involving attacks abroad are examined by national authorities.
At this stage, however, the confirmed development is the opening of an investigation. That is a procedural step, not a verdict. It does not mean investigators have concluded that a war crime occurred, nor does it establish who may be held responsible.
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The Strike Before the Ceasefire
The airstrike took place on November 26, 2024, less than 12 hours before a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect, according to the source report. The building was constructed by the Cherri family. The reported physical damage was concentrated in apartments on its eastern side, on floors seven through 10.
In its February report on alleged Israeli war crimes in Lebanon, Amnesty International said it found no evidence of a verifiable military target at the strike location and said residents had not received an evacuation warning. Cherri’s complaint drew on that report as well as the work by Forensic Architecture. Those findings are evidence cited by the complainant and researchers; the French inquiry will have to assess the available material independently.
Cherri is a French-Lebanese artist and filmmaker. The investigation concerns the strike on his family home and the deaths of those inside and elsewhere in the building, rather than an inquiry into his artistic work.
Questions Investigators Must Resolve
The available report does not identify the French investigators assigned to the case, describe the precise investigative steps planned or say whether any suspects have been named. It also does not report a response from Israeli authorities to the complaint or to the findings cited by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture.
It remains unclear what intelligence or operational information was available to the forces that carried out the strike, whether investigators can obtain that material, and how they will evaluate the claim that the building had no verifiable military target. The full casualty count is given as at least four additional civilians beyond the three people named, but the source does not provide their identities or further details. No findings on criminal responsibility have been announced.
The Investigation’s Next Steps
French investigators will need to examine the complaint and its supporting evidence, including the Amnesty report, the digital reconstruction by Forensic Architecture and records from witnesses. The source report does not set out a timetable for the inquiry or announce a date for any further public update.
Any eventual findings may clarify whether the strike amounted to a war crime under the legal framework applied by the investigators and whether the available evidence identifies people responsible. Until then, the case remains under investigation, and the allegations should be distinguished from any conclusion reached by a court or prosecutor.
Key Questions
What is France investigating?
France’s War Crimes Unit has opened an investigation into the November 26, 2024, Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment building in Beirut, following a complaint filed by artist Ali Cherri.
Who was killed in the strike?
Cherri’s parents, Mahmoud Naim Cherri and Nadira Hayek, and their domestic worker, Birki Negesa, were found in the artist’s ninth-floor apartment. The report also says at least four other civilians living in the building were killed.
What evidence was cited in the complaint?
The complaint drew on an Amnesty International report and a digital reconstruction of the building by Forensic Architecture, based on documentation from Cherri and neighboring witnesses.
Has France concluded that a war crime occurred?
No. The reported development is the opening of an investigation. No finding of criminal responsibility or final legal conclusion has been reported.
What remains unknown about the case?
The reported information does not give a timetable, detail the next investigative steps, name any suspects or include a response from Israeli authorities. The evidence and allegations have not yet been publicly resolved by the French inquiry.
Source: hyperallergic.com
