Over 9,000 Casualties in 3 Weeks... Lebanon Devastated by Israeli Airstrikes

3000 Airstrikes in Two Days... Massive Civilian Casualties

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to CNN on the 4th (local time), approximately 9,000 casualties have occurred over the past three weeks due to Israel's airstrikes on Lebanon. The death toll exceeds 1,400, including 127 children, and the number of injured is estimated to be around 7,500. On the 23rd of last month alone, 558 people died in a single day.

Israel has stated that it is targeting Hezbollah, the pro-Iran armed faction in Lebanon, but civilian casualties are significant. The UK conflict monitoring organization Airwars assessed that this air campaign is the most intense aerial operation in 20 years, excluding the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military conducted 3,000 airstrikes between the 24th and 25th of last month alone, a scale comparable to the early stages of the US war in Afghanistan.

Israel claims to make efforts to minimize civilian casualties by calling residents in targeted buildings and sending text messages urging evacuation, but international human rights organizations point out that such warnings do not serve as a free pass. CNN reported that many attacks were carried out without prior warning.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health estimates that over 1 million people, one-fifth of the population, are currently displaced, and shelters have exceeded their capacity. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), an NGO monitoring conflicts, since Israel began its war with the local armed faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip last October, there have been about 9,000 attacks targeting Hezbollah, and Hezbollah has carried out about 1,500 attacks, with armed clashes continuing.

The scope of Israeli airstrikes has expanded from southern Lebanon to Beirut, marking the first attack on downtown Beirut in 20 years. Currently, evacuation orders have been issued for more than 100 villages in southern Lebanon, raising concerns about the expansion of Israel's ground operations.