NYT: Israel Urges Christian and Druze Communities to Force Shiites Out of Southern Lebanon

The New York Times reports Israeli military officials are privately urging Christian and Druze communities in southern Lebanon to force out Shiite Muslim residents sheltering among them. Human rights groups condemn the plan as ethnic cleansing. This comes as Israel has ordered the expansion of its so-called buffer zone in Lebanon from the Litani River to areas north of the Zahrani River, displacing about a fifth of the Lebanese population. Israel’s finance and defense ministers have called on Israel to annex southern Lebanon. More than 1,200 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2. The World Health Organization has recorded at least 120 attacks on medical infrastructure across Lebanon, Iran and Israel since the start of the war. Meanwhile, the U.N. says three Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon last weekend may be war crimes victims and that an investigation is underway. Stéphane Dujarric: “We’ve said repeatedly, these incidents are unacceptable and demand full accountability. … Attacks on U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.”