Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, says Israel’s strikes targeting Hamas leaders in Lebanon clearly breach international law and set a dangerous precedent for other global conflicts, Al Jazeera reports.

Pointing to an alleged Israeli strike on January 2 that killed senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut suburb, Saul said Israel was not justified in taking its fight with Hamas into Lebanon’s borders.

“Hamas’ original attack on Israel on October 7 came from Gaza, not from Lebanon. And Israel hasn’t presented any evidence that Hamas was attacking Israel from Lebanon itself,” Saul told Al Jazeera.

“By escalating the conflict to Lebanon, Israel is clearly in violation of international law, breaching Lebanon’s sovereignty, and violating the prohibition on the use of force under the UN charter,” Saul said.