Lebanese Americans file US lawsuit over war damage in Lebanon

Dozens of Lebanese Americans have filed a class action civil lawsuit in a US federal court in Michigan, accusing the US government and several defence contractors of helping enable Israel's conduct in Lebanon. The case was filed on Tuesday in the US District Court in Michigan and names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Caterpillar as defendants. The plaintiffs say their property in Lebanon was damaged during the war and argue that US military support should have been halted under the Leahy Law.

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The lawsuit was brought by the Michigan-based Arab American Civil Rights League and 16 individual US citizens who say they own property in Lebanon. According to the filing, the damage was caused by what they describe as indiscriminate use of force by Israel during the conflict. One of the named plaintiffs, Nasser Beydoun, a Michigan businessman and politician, alleges that his family home in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon was destroyed without military necessity or justification.

The plaintiffs also argue that defence contractors selling equipment to Israel should be stopped because they are knowingly supporting unlawful conduct in the conflict. The legal claim centres on the Leahy Law, a US statute that bars military assistance, training or equipment to foreign forces credibly linked to gross human rights violations. The plaintiffs say the law has been enforced in other parts of the world but not in this case.

Nabih Ayad, a lawyer and head of the Arab American Civil Rights League, said there was credible information about gross human rights violations and that no action had been taken. The lawsuit is seeking class action status on behalf of what the plaintiffs say could be tens of thousands of Lebanese Americans with property in Lebanon that has been damaged, or could later be damaged, by air strikes and other military activity. The case adds a new legal front to the wider debate over US support for Israel during the Lebanon war.

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It also raises questions about how Washington applies human rights restrictions to military aid and whether private contractors can be held responsible for sales linked to alleged abuses. The filing comes against the backdrop of continuing scrutiny of the conduct of the war in Lebanon and the impact on civilian property. It also places a domestic US civil rights group at the centre of a dispute with potentially broader implications for foreign policy and arms transfers.

The lawsuit refers to a June remark by US President Donald Trump, who acknowledged what he described as indiscriminate use of force in Lebanon. The plaintiffs are using that statement to support their argument that the scale of destruction was not justified by military necessity. The Arab American Civil Rights League has previously been involved in other civil rights litigation, underlining its role as an active legal advocate for Arab American communities.

The defendants have not been quoted in the supplied material, and no court ruling has yet been reported. It remains unclear how the court will respond to the request for class action status or whether the claims will proceed beyond the initial filing. The immediate next step is likely to be early court consideration of the complaint and any response from the named defendants.

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