Artist-Filmmaker Ali Cherri Files War Crime Case Over Israeli Airstrike Killing His Parents In Beirut

Ali Cherri, a French-Lebanese artist and filmmaker, alongside the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), filed a civil complaint with the French War Crimes Unit against the Israeli army, per a press release.

Cherri has condemned Israel’s army bombing a “civilian object” in his complaint on Thursday (April 2).

The Israeli authorities in November 2024 bombed a residential apartment building in Noueiri, a residential neighbourhood in Beirut, Lebanon, taking the lives of seven civilians, including Cherri’s parents. The artist has stated that the Israeli military has committed a war crime.

Ali Cherri war crime case

“As a son, a citizen, and a victim, it is my duty to ensure that this war crime committed by the Israeli army is recognised for what it is, so that it may be brought to justice—for my parents and for all the civilians killed that day,” Cherri said, in a statement via FIDH. “Justice cannot undo death, but seeking justice means refusing to let impunity lead to the destruction of other lives.” 

This is the first time a French court has taken up a case regarding Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, according to The Guardian. 

“Our demand is that an investigation is opened so that we know for a fact what happened, to name this attack as a war crime against civilians, and hopefully being able to name the people responsible for this,” Cherri told the publication.

Israeli strike on Lebanon civilians

On November 26, 2024, in the afternoon, hours before a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was scheduled to come into effect, the Israeli military bombed the apartment building. Cherri's parents, Mahmoud Naib Cherri and Nadira Hayek, were killed. Birki Negesa, his parents' employee, and four others also lost their lives.  

In February 2026, Amnesty International published an investigation, stating they had “reasonable basis to conclude that the Israeli air strike violated international humanitarian law, constituting either an indiscriminate attack or a direct attack on civilians or a civilian object.”