The town of Kfar Kila bombed by Israel, March 15, 2024. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health published its latest assessment of the clashes in southern Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, covering the period from Oct. 8, 2023 to March 20, 2024.
Based on hospital data, the Ministry counts a total of 1,225 victims – killed and wounded – including 257 people who had to be hospitalized – 10 more in one week – and 316 deaths. The previous toll, dated March 12, was 317. An unexplained drop in the death toll, although we were unable to contact the Ministry of Health.
Of the total number of victims recorded, dead and wounded, 88 percent were men and 95 percent Lebanese. Around 60 percent of victims are between 25 and 44 years of age. Of the injuries recorded by the ministry, 44 percent were due to trauma caused by Israeli bombardment, 34 percent to explosions and 18 percent to exposure to chemicals. These proportions have changed little in the space of a week. On the other hand, the previous report gave a figure of 3 percent of victims having been "shot at," a figure that does not appear in this week's figures.
As usual, the ministry did not give a breakdown of the number of people displaced from South Lebanon since Oct. 8, when the conflict began. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports 91,316 displaced persons.
According to a count by L'Orient-Le Jour, 317 people have been killed since the start of the fighting in Lebanon, including at least 223 Hezbollah members and 49 civilians.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
