Smoke rising over Lebanon, seen from the Israeli-Lebanese border in northern Israel, November 12, 2023. (Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
BEIRUT — In its first official report since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that 77 people have been killed and 251 injured by the fighting in Lebanon.
However, the ministry report did not distinguish between civilians and combatants killed on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Hezbollah and Israel are engaged in daily hostilities.
It is also unclear whether the ministry's toll includes those killed and wounded belonging to armed groups other than Hezbollah, notably Palestinian groups, also involved in incidents on the Israeli border. At least six civilians were also killed on the border since the start of the war, according to our count.
According to ministry figures, 97 percent of those injured were Lebanese nationals. Syrian and Palestinian nationals each made up one percent of the remaining injured, while the final one percent were of unspecified nationalities.
The Health Ministry reports that 38 percent of the injured suffered "blunt trauma," 30 percent were wounded by "explosions" and 27 percent by "exposure to toxic chemicals."
Citing figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), updated on Oct. 9, the ministry notes that 26,232 people have been displaced since the start of the Hamas-Israel war.
The Health Ministry's report will be published twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
