On August 26, 2025, Amnesty International issued a publication accusing Israel of “extensively destroy[ing] and damag[ing] civilian structures and agricultural land in southern Lebanon” during the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah conflict, stemming from Hamas’ October 7th invasion. The document showcases the NGO’s standard operating procedures for anti-Israel propaganda: ignoring or downplaying the context of terror activity, distorting international law, and parroting or recycling local “eyewitness” claims as gospel.

Moreover, the demands made by Amnesty reflect the obvious bias for Iranian-backed Hezbollah over Israel.

This preference is also manifested in Amnesty’s reporting on the conflict since it began, with scant mention of the over 60,000 Israeli civilians forced to evacuate, and only token attention paid to the dozens of Israeli civilians maimed and murdered by Hezbollah since it began attacking on October 8, 2023.

Erasing the context

• Following the NGO’s standard procedure in claims related to Israel, Amnesty makes minimal mention of Hezbollah’s extensive use of civilian infrastructure and surrounding agricultural areas to launch attacks on Israelis. Similarly, no mention is made of the clear evidence regarding the Iranian-backed terrorist organization’s continued preparations to invade Israel in an October 7th-style attack, and its extensive exploitation of civilian infrastructure in Lebanese villages to achieve that goal.
• Amnesty blatantly avoids referencing the widely available evidence documenting the enormous scale and range of advanced weaponry, ammunition, supplies for hostage-taking, surveillance tools, tunnels, and other Hezbollah equipment deliberately placed in and around ostensibly civilian structures in Lebanon.

Reparations

• Amnesty demands Israel pay reparations to Lebanese citizens whose property was damaged during the conflict. It does not demand Hezbollah compensate Lebanese citizens for illegally locating military equipment and infrastructure in and around their homes.
• Absurdly, as many of the destroyed homes were owned by Hezbollah operatives, Amnesty’s proposition would lead to Israel paying reparations to Hezbollah terrorists who turned their own homes into military bases. 
• Further revealing the organization’s preferences and biases, Amnesty does not mention compensation for the thousands of Israeli civilians whose homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged by Hezbollah attacks; forced to flee their homes for over a year; or who suffered economic hardship due to Hezbollah attacks on civilians and its threat of invasion.

Arms embargo

• Amnesty demands that the international community end arms sales to Israel, thereby attempting to deprive Israel of the capability necessary to defend its citizens from heinous attacks. No recommendation is made regarding the flow of weapons to Hezbollah or its Iranian sponsor, nor does the NGO call for the terrorist organization to disarm. 
• In fact, not one of Amnesty’s recommendations pertains to Hezbollah, save for a vague reference to “the UN Special Rapporteur on truth, justice and reparation [should] conduct a country visit and recommend measures that Israel, Hezbollah and the government of Lebanon can take to uphold victims’ right to justice, truth and reparation.”

Military necessity

• Amnesty inverts Israel’s discovery of extensive Hezbollah military equipment in Lebanese homes, claiming that after their removal by the IDF, it was unnecessary to destroy the structures where they were found is reason not to destroy these structures: “The Israeli military had the feasible alternative to remove military objectives, such as weapons, rather than destroying the buildings in which these were allegedly found.” This assertion ignores both the possibility that additional weapons remain on or in tunnels below these premises, as well as the likely scenario that Hezbollah would resupply and reoccupy them following an Israeli withdrawal. 
• Amnesty fails to consider the obvious military advantage that these structures located near the border with Israel afford Hezbollah, beyond storing equipment. These include surveilling Israeli territory in preparation for attack; creating temporary, ad-hoc firing positions; and housing operatives.
• Amnesty’s assertion that Israeli operational control of Lebanese villages decreases the “immediate military necessity” to demolish structures in the area, inadvertently advocates for a permanent Israeli military presence as long as Hezbollah forces are present. The claim reinforces Israeli intelligence showing the inherent threat of allowing Hezbollah to return to positions in Southern Lebanon.