Construction Companies May Be Aiding and Abetting Israels War Crimes in Lebanon

By Shireen Akram-Boshar

This article was originally published by Truthout

Six multinational construction companies may be aiding and abetting war crimes in south Lebanon by supplying Israel with excavators and bulldozers, according to human rights experts and analysis undertaken by The Guardian. 

Photos and videos from April show the Israeli military using excavators made by Caterpillar, Volvo, Hyundai, Doosan, Hitachi and Komatsu to destroy homes, shops, solar panels, water infrastructure, and other buildings across south Lebanon. The Guardian verified the imagery, which shows excavators from the six companies demolishing homes in various towns in south Lebanon.

Human Rights Watch has said that Israel's destruction of villages could amount to wanton destruction, a war crime – in addition to other likely war crimes carried out by Israel in Lebanon like forcible displacement and attacks deliberately targeting civilians. 

The Guardian noted that human rights experts have said that foreign companies should stop supplying Israel with construction equipment until confident that it will not be used in war crimes.

“Businesses carrying out activities that contribute to serious international law violations in Lebanon, such as the extensive destruction of civilian property, may expose themselves, or their individual directors and managers, to the risk of prosecution for complicity in war crimes,†said Mark Dummett, deputy program director and head of business, security and human rights at Amnesty International.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International also stated in a new report that its imagery showed “almost full-scale clearing of almost all the municipalities along the border.†Israel has “carried out extensive destruction†since its 2024 war on Lebanon, it said, but “previously, isolated structures and sections of villages may have been left intact. Now, almost all of those have been levelled and the heavy destruction has expanded to municipalities further [from the border].†The report focused on forced displacement, which it says amounts to “unlawful transfer,†another war crime. 

In May, The New York Times reported that Israel has razed more than two dozen Lebanese border towns and villages since the start of its war on Lebanon in March. An Amnesty International investigator told The New York Times that “This is basically the same pattern that we documented back in Gaza.†According to The Guardian, 46 towns and villages in Lebanon's south have now suffered heavy damage.

Haaretz also noted that Israel destroyed or damaged over 10,000 structures in south Lebanon in its 2024 war on Lebanon, and that even more have been destroyed in the current war. 

Some estimates suggest 36,000 homes have been destroyed in south Lebanon alone. 

In April, Haaretz noted that Israel brought dozens of heavy machinery vehicles “including excavators operated by paid contractors†into south Lebanon, and that some workers were “compensated based on the number of structures†they destroyed. Some of these contractors had previously worked in Gaza, demolishing civilian structures there. Haaretz noted that demolitions continued during “ceasefires†– which functioned as one-sided ceasefires in which Israel continued its destruction – and that the Israeli military closely monitored and tracked demolitions. 

In March, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that “all houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be demolished according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza.â€

Elizabeth Rghebi, Middle East and North Africa Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA, told Truthout:

Amnesty International has documented the unlawful destruction of civilian property and land that has become a hallmark of Israel's military operations in the region, from Lebanon to the Occupied Palestinian Territory to Syria. This trail of destruction across southern Lebanon has rendered entire areas uninhabitable, destroyed livelihoods, and left people with no homes to return to.

Amnesty International continues to call on all governments and companies to stop fueling Israel's atrocities and on governments to immediately suspend the supply, sale, and transfer to Israel of all weapons and other military and security equipment, including construction equipment that is used to destroy civilian property.

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