Civilian casualties driving Israel-Hezbollah to full-scale war

As the violence between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated dramatically in recent days, civilians have paid a heavy price.

Hundreds of people in southern Lebanon have been killed and more than 1,600 wounded in Israeli airstrikes. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has fired hundreds of rockets and other munitions into Israel.

More than 160,000 people have been displaced on either side of the border from the fighting, which many fear may be close to tipping into a full-scale war.

One senior analyst for the International Crisis Group said there’s been a “very worrying shift” on both sides in recent days in terms of a willingness to cause civilian casualties.

In such a chaotic environment, just what exactly are both sides obligated to do under the law to prevent civilian casualties?

What are both sides obligated to do as a baseline?

The law of armed conflict is very straightforward on this question – they must only target military objectives and military personnel. They must not target civilians.

And even when launching attacks against legitimate military objectives, all parties to an armed conflict are under an obligation to, as much as possible, minimize the risk of collateral civilian damage.

If it becomes clear at any point in the planning or the execution of an attack that there is going to be disproportionate civilian damage, then the attack should be called off or appropriate warnings should be given.

Warnings are complicated, though. There is no strict obligation to warn civilians in the law of conflict. Rather, there is a requirement to warn civilians if the circumstances permit.

So, for instance, if it’s necessary to immediately attack a specific location because it’s the only opportunity you would have to target an insurgent