Ali Cherri Files War Crimes Complaint in France Over Beirut Airstrike That Killed His Parents
French Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a war crimes complaint in France over an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed his parents and other civilians, a move he says is aimed at securing an independent investigation and accountability.
The complaint, submitted on April 2 to the French War Crimes Unit, concerns a strike on November 26, 2024, that hit a building in the Noueiri neighborhood of central Beirut. Cherri’s parents, Mahmoud Naim Cherri and Nadira Hayek, were among those killed, along with five other civilians. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is supporting the case.
“This complaint was an important but difficult step,” Cherri said. “It seeks to have what happened to my family recognised for what it is — a war crime against civilians — to ensure that the truth is established through an independent investigation, and that those responsible are held accountable.”
The strike took place just hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was agreed upon, following a 13-month conflict that killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon.
Cherri, who is based in Paris and holds both French and Lebanese citizenship, is pursuing the case under French provisions that allow investigations into international crimes linked to France. A central hurdle, however, is that French law does not extend the same protections to non-French citizens such as Cherri’s parents. Still, the complaint argues there may be a pathway forward because it also concerns the destruction of property connected to Cherri.
The filing draws heavily on open-source investigations and reporting by human rights and research organizations. It cites Amnesty International’s briefing “The Sky Rained Missiles,” which argues that four separate Israeli airstrikes should be investigated as war crimes under international law. Amnesty’s briefing states that Israel did not issue warnings ahead of the attacks, which killed at least 49 civilians, and that there was no evidence of a military objective at the targeted sites.
The complaint also references an investigation by Forensic Architecture, the London-based research group affiliated with Goldsmiths, University of London. Using satellite imagery, witness testimony, and video footage, the group reconstructed the strike that killed Cherri’s parents. Its findings indicate the building was likely residential and did not show a clear military use at the time of the attack.
In a statement, Clémence Bectarte, a lawyer and coordinator of the FIDH Litigation Action Group, said the attacks “constitute a clear and repeated violation of international humanitarian law,” pointing to the obligation to distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects and populations. She added that the French justice system “must ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished, and that those responsible are prosecuted.”
Among the civilians killed in the Noueiri strike was Birki Negesa, a domestic worker contracted by Cherri’s family who had arrived in Lebanon a month earlier. Cherri has also spoken of the death of Mohamad Chehab, a drone operator and cameraman who worked with him for several weeks to document the building and the apartment. Chehab and his three-year-old daughter were killed last month in another Israeli airstrike just outside Beirut; Chehab’s wife, Natalie, survived and remains in critical condition.
Cherri said that since the complaint became public, he has received messages from families who have suffered similar losses and feel shut out of legal recourse. For the artist, the case is not only a personal attempt to name what happened, but also a test of whether a European jurisdiction can meaningfully examine alleged violations of international humanitarian law tied to the war in Lebanon.
If French authorities decide there is sufficient jurisdictional basis to proceed, the complaint could become a closely watched example of how open-source investigations — from satellite analysis to verified video — are increasingly shaping the evidentiary landscape of contemporary war-crimes litigation.
