The Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) has issued a fiery condemnation of this week's Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, alleging that Israel committed a "blatant and deliberate violation" of a internationally-brokered ceasefire and calling the attack a "massacre" that demands immediate accountability from the United States government.

In a statement released Thursday signed by Acting Executive Director Houda Berri-Harjli, the ACRL detailed a large-scale aerial assault on the Lebanese capital that it claims occurred less than eight hours after a ceasefire agreement had been publicly endorsed.

According to the statement, the attack involved over 200 warplanes and more than 160 bombs dropped within minutes, leveling civilian apartment buildings, destroying critical infrastructure, and causing hundreds of civilian casualties. The ACRL alleged that hospitals across Beirut are "now in a state of collapse" and urgently appealing for blood donations.

"What the world witnessed was not a breakdown in diplomacy, it was a blatant and deliberate violation of it," Berri-Harjli wrote. "Let us be clear: this was not a targeted military operation. This was a massacre."

The league described the destruction as a "9/11-level event for Lebanon in terms of shock, loss, and human devastation," adding that entire neighborhoods and historic sites older than the modern state of Israel had been reduced to rubble.

Ceasefire Claims and Regional Context

The ACRL claimed that the ceasefire had been negotiated with the involvement of Pakistan and agreed upon by the United States, Iran, Israel, and Lebanon. The statement did not provide specific details on the timing or framework of the alleged agreement, but asserted that it was "publicly endorsed and presented as a step toward stability" before being shattered by the Israeli operation.

The group placed the Beirut strikes within what it called a "longstanding and well-documented pattern" of Israeli military conduct, citing recent events including the passage of a death penalty law applied exclusively to Palestinians, multiple mass-casualty attacks in both Lebanon and Gaza, and the forced displacement of civilians.

"These are not isolated events," the statement read. "They are systemic. There has been no accountability. There has been no deterrence."

Domestic Implications for Arab Americans

Berri-Harjli's statement also emphasized the personal and political stakes for Arab American communities in the United States, arguing that the violence abroad is intrinsically linked to civil rights at home.

"We are watching our homelands, our families, and our history come under attack while being told to temper our outrage," she wrote, noting that many who speak out face "backlash, censorship, and professional consequences."

The ACRL framed its advocacy as a fight against the principle "that some lives are valued less than others," warning that when the international community fails to hold governments accountable, that message reverberates domestically.

Calls for U.S. Action

The league issued a series of demands directed at the U.S. government, including:

• A public and unequivocal condemnation of Israel's attack on Beirut.

• An immediate, enforceable ceasefire "with no exceptions or carve-outs."

• An independent international investigation into the civilian deaths.

• Conditioning all U.S. military aid to Israel on compliance with international humanitarian law.

• Holding Israel accountable for repeated violations of ceasefire agreements.

The White House and State Department had not issued an immediate response to the ACRL's statement at the time of publication. Israeli officials have not yet publicly addressed the specific allegations regarding the reported ceasefire violation.

The ACRL, a national U.S. civil rights organization, continues to call for what it describes as equal justice and protection for Arab American communities, urging that no people "should be silenced in the face of injustice, whether that injustice occurs here at home or abroad."

Photos credit: ACRL