Mass evacuation orders for southern Lebanon, Beirut may violate international law — UN rights chief

By Reuters and ToI Staff 6 March 2026, 11:23 am

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Displaced people fleeing Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh sleep on the Beirut corniche, Lebanon, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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 says.

“These blanket, massive displacement orders, we are talking here about hundreds and thousands of people,” says 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 adds.

Israel has, in the past few days, issued calls for civilians across southern Lebanon to move north of the Litani River, and for the total evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a known Hezbollah stronghold.