Artist Ali Cherri Files Civil Complaint Against Israel for Killing His Family; Committing a War Crime

Artist Ali Cherri Files Civil Complaint Against Israel for Killing His Family; Committing a War Crime

In arare instanceof an individual pursuing such charges,Ali Cherri, a Franco-Lebanese filmmaker and artist, has filed a civil complaint against the Israeli army with the French War Crimes Unit, per apress release. Cherri, who submitted the complaint on April 2 alongside the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), is denouncing the Israeli authorities’ November 2024 bombing of a residential apartment building in Noueiri, a neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon—the attackkilled seven civilians, including Cherri’s parents. The artist is arguing that the Israeli military has committed a war crime.

“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, ina statementvia FIDH. “Justice cannot undo death, but seeking justice means refusing to let impunity lead to the destruction of other lives.”

On the afternoon of the 26th of November, 2024, hours before a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was scheduled to come into effect, the apartment building in question was targeted by an Israeli military bombing. Mahmoud Naib Cherri, Cherri’s father, and Nadira Hayek, his mother, were killed. Also killed that day were Birki Negesa, an employee of his parents, and four others. 

This marks the first time that 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 Guardian. 

In February of 2026, Amnesty International published an investigation into the incident and determined that 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.” 

Cherri, born in Beirut, has had solo exhibitions at the Jönköping County Museum in Sweden, CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, and Jeu de Paume, France, among others. His films have been screened at MoMA’s New Directors/New Films and the Dubai International Film Festival.