Funeral of slain Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil at Khirbet Silm, in the district of Bint Jbeil, south Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2023. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Health Ministry published its latest numbers on the war in southern Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, covering the period from Oct. 8, 2023 to Wednesday, June 19. It counts 1,774 casualties, including 432 killed and 465 wounded who had to be hospitalized.
However, the ministry's numbers still does not differentiate between combatants and civilians killed.
According to a count by L'Orient Today, the members of Hezbollah killed in Lebanon and Syria since the beginning of the hostilities reached 350 as of Friday. There are also members of other groups who have been killed, including the Amal Movement and Jamaa Islamiya – totaling around 30 casualties – and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas – which have around 31 deaths.
Of the total number of victims, both dead and wounded, the Health Ministry reported that 86 percent were men, 94 percent Lebanese and 57 percent between the ages of 25 and 44. Of the injuries recorded, 44 percent were due to trauma caused by Israeli bombardment, 33 percent to explosions and 16 percent due to exposure to chemicals. Only the proportion of people injured in explosions has slightly decreased from 34 to 33 percent since the last report earlier this month.
The ministry's figures also include the number of people displaced from their homes in the conflict zones, citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number has risen to 95,228 since the start of the conflict, according to a count up to June 13.