People check the rubble of destroyed buildings in the village of Younine in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on Sept. 26, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Since Monday Sept. 23, when the Israeli army unleashed a relentless bombing campaign against southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and more recently the southern suburbs of Beirut, at least 1,000 thousand people have been killed. This includes over 100 women and children, nearing the total number of people killed throughout the month-long 2006 war — in just nine days.
Before last Monday, hundreds had been killed during the cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel that began on Oct. 8, the day after Hamas' al-Aqsa Flood operation against southern Israel, which was followed by the Israeli army launching a devastating military campaign on Gaza. During that period of time, the majority of those who were killed were Hezbollah fighters, in addition to over one hundred civilians and two dozen paramedics.
But the casualty count grew exponentially starting from Sept. 17 and Sept. 18 when there were simultaneous detonations of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members across the country. The operation was widely attributed to Israel's Mossad, but the country's president later denied any involvement. Two days later, on Sept. 20, a massive Israeli airstrike killed 52 people in Beirut's southern suburbs , including 15 commanders of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Forces and the unit's leader.
The next Monday, Sept. 23, the Israeli army launched an extensive and devastating bombing campaign of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, killing more than 500 people in one day. Since then, the overall death toll has more than doubled, with hundreds of civilians killed as Israeli bombardments across the country intensify, according to Lebanon's caretaker health minister. On Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that by the government's tally, more than one million people are now displaced from the war.
For perspective, let's take a look at other deadly events endured by the people of Lebanon and the region:
The 2006 war
In the 2006 war, which broke out on July 12 between Hezbollah and Israel and included a ground invasion by the Israeli army into southern Lebanon, 1,191 people were killed, 4,409 injured and more than 900,000 people forced from their homes. Around one-third of the casualties were children.
The number of casualties and displaced people since October 2023 has now surpassed the 2006 war, with at least 1,850 people killed in Lebanon, around a million displaced and approximately 9,250 injured since Oct. 8, according to the Ministry of Health and OCHA.
Comparison between figures of the hostilities in Lebanon since October and the 2006 war. (Credit: Jaimee Lee Haddad/L'Orient Today)
The Aug. 4 Beirut Port explosion
Last Monday alone, 558 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon; more than double the number of people who died as a result of the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, the largest non-nuclear explosion in written history. The blast was the result of negligence and poorly stored ammonium nitrate and killed around 235 people, injured 6,500 more and destroyed more than 77,000 homes.
The Gaza war
Israel's almost-year-long military onslaught against Gaza has killed at least 41,689 people and injured 96,460 since October, with thousands more thought to be missing under the rubble.
Deadliest days in Lebanon and Gaza since October 2023. (Credit: Jaimee Lee Haddad/L'Orient Today)
In this war, the highest daily Palestinian death toll occurred on Nov. 21, when the Israeli army killed 828 Palestinians. Meanwhile, the daily number of injured people exceeded 1,000 on at least 20 days but the record of injuries occurred on Dec. 2, when 3,652 Palestinians were wounded. Meanwhile, the highest number of people killed and injured in a single day in Lebanon occurred on Sept. 23, with 558 people killed in Israeli air raids and 1,835 people injured.
