Ali Cherri, a Lebanese-French artist and filmmaker, filed a war crime complaint in France against Israel, after his parents were killed in an IDF strike in 2024, Deadline reported on Thursday.
According to Deadline, Cherri's parents were killed in November 2024 IDF airstrike on Beirut, only hours before a ceasefire was implemented between Israel and Hezbollah. The strike was reported to have killed seven civilians.
“As a son, a citizen, and a victim, it is my duty to ensure that this war crime committed by the Israeli army is recognized for what it is, so that it may be brought to justice," Cherri said, "For my parents and for all the civilians killed that day."
"Justice cannot undo death, but seeking justice means refusing to let impunity lead to the destruction of other lives.”
Cherri, described by Deadline as "one of Lebanon’s best-known contemporary artists," has had his work featured in several prominent galleries, including the Guggenheim in New York and the Tate Modern in England.
Cherri's complaint, lodged with the French War Crimes Unit, was further backed by the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which claimed that Cherri's parents' death was part of a larger pattern of civilian deaths caused by Israel in Lebanon.
Clémence Bectarte, a lawyer and coordinator of the FIDH Litigation Action Group, said that Israel's attacks were in violation of international humanitarian law, arguing that the IDF was obligated to distinguish between military and civilian targets.
“The French justice system must ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished, and that those responsible are prosecuted, particularly when its own citizens are the victims,” he said.
Israeli strike kills cameraman, four-year-old
Deadline noted that the complaint came only days after an Israeli strike killed Lebanese cameraman and director Mohamad Shehab, along with his four-year-old daughter.
According to Deadline, the FIDH claimed in circumstances of the incident similar to those surrounding the strike on Cherri's parents' building.
Shehab had been involved in recording footage of Cherri's parents' apartment for the organization Forensic Architecture, which conducted digital reconstruction work upon which the war crimes complaint was based.