The coffin of Hassan Nasrallah transported during his funeral in Beirut's southern suburbs on Feb. 23, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Le-Jour)
BEIRUT — Alma, an Israeli 'research center,' has published a report claiming that 4,000 Hezbollah "operatives" were killed during the latest war in Lebanon.
The center, largely composed of former Israeli military and intelligence personnel, stated: "It is estimated that about 4,000 Hezbollah operatives were killed during the war and thousands more were injured. Overall, an estimated 15–20 percent of Hezbollah’s 100,000-strong regular and reserve forces were injured [killed and wounded]." The report did not provide further details to support these estimates, nor did it clarify who it considers "operatives."
In 2021, the same organization published a study claiming the existence of an "extensive network of Hezbollah tunnels running throughout Lebanese territory." The report was based on what Alma researchers described as a "secret Hezbollah map found on the internet," but it did not provide tangible evidence. Israeli soldiers have also filmed themselves inside tunnels allegedly dug by Hezbollah during their offensive in southern Lebanon.
This is not the first time such casualty estimates have been reported. Following the cease-fire in Lebanon on Nov. 27, Reuters cited an anonymous source described as "close" to Hezbollah, who claimed that "the Iran-backed group may have lost up to 4,000 members in 14 months of hostilities."
According to the estimates of Lebanon's Health Ministery, at least 4,047 people — including 736 women and 248 children — were killed in Lebanon by the Israeli army during the war, between Oct. 8, 2023, and Nov. 27, 2024. Since the cease-fire took effect, "at least 57 civilians" have been killed in southern Lebanon, according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, while at least 80 have been killed in Israeli attacks since that date.
Dozens of bodies of missing persons have also been recovered from under the rubble during the past three months of the truce.
Hezbollah had previously provided detailed reports on fighters killed by Israel since Oct. 8, 2023, the start of the conflict.
However, since Sept. 23, 2024, marking the start of Israel’s escalation, the group has stopped updating the public on losses within its ranks. Its last official count reported 513 fighters killed by Israel “on the road to Jerusalem,” including 470 in Lebanon and 43 in Syria.
An anonymous Syrian military observer estimated that at least 1,734 Hezbollah members have been killed.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient Le-Jour.
