Vehicles burned by Israeli bombings in the southern suburbs of Beirut in early October 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine / L’Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Israel killed at least 6,000 people in Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah, according to estimates reported by the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday, a sharp increase from the approximately 4,000 people counted in the official death toll.
The tally, which includes Hezbollah fighters, civilians, and medical personnel, has not yet been confirmed by the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Bodies are regularly recovered from under the rubble in devastated villages bombed by Israel and then occupied by its troops following the implementation of the cease-fire.
Asharq Al-Awsat notes that the estimate was delayed due to Israel’s ongoing occupation of land in southern Lebanon. Israel bombed southern and eastern Lebanon continuously for more than two months, hitting thousands of sites, sometimes preceded by evacuation warnings that were often misleading or unrealistic.
Access to bodies and DNA testing have helped identify many of those previously reported missing in the region, the Saudi outlet adds, which has allowed families to learn the fate of their loved ones and for funeral services to be arranged.
