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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
William Christou in Beirut

Construction equipment multinationals may be aiding Israeli war crimes, experts say

Excavators demolish buildings with red-tiled roofs amid dust and rubble on a hillside in southern Lebanon
Bulldozers demolishing homes in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP

Human rights experts have alleged that six multinational construction equipment conglomerates may be aiding and abetting war crimes by supplying excavators and bulldozers to Israel, after photos and videos showed the Israeli military using their equipment to demolish villages in south Lebanon.

The Guardian geolocated and verified images showing the Israeli military using excavators made by six companies – Caterpillar, Volvo, Hyundai, Doosan, Hitachi and Komatsu – to destroy homes, public utilities, shops and other structures across southern Lebanon.

Israel has levelled entire villages inside the “yellow line”, a 608 sq km area occupied by Israel along the Lebanese-Israeli border. At least 46 villages in south Lebanon have suffered heavy damage, most of it caused by demolitions carried out after the 17 April Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, according to a satellite analysis by Bellingcat.

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