Israel’s Strikes on Lebanon Are Some of the Deadliest in Decades
What we know about the strikes, the death toll and how it is calculated.
Share full article
Members of a Lebanese civil defense and firefighting unit worked on Tuesday at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs.Credit...Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
By Patrick Kingsley and Euan Ward
Reporting from Jerusalem and Beirut, LebanonSept. 24, 2024
Leer en español
Israel’s strikes on Lebanon on Monday amounted to one of the most intense air raids in contemporary warfare, outstripping even the bombing of Gaza during the opening days of the Israeli-Hamas war in October, war experts said.
The death count is also one of the highest daily tolls in recent global wars, and could rise because people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble in Lebanon.
War death tolls are estimates, and exact comparisons between conflicts are difficult. But the toll on Monday in Lebanon exceeded most daily tolls in Gaza over the past year and more than doubled the average daily death rate during the deadliest year of the Syrian civil war.
Here’s what else to know.
The number of targets struck by Israel
The Israeli military said it hit more than 1,600 targets in Lebanon on Monday, a number that has few, if any, precedents in 21st-century warfare, according to Emily Tripp, the director of Airwars, a British conflict monitor.
Israeli airstrikes reported on Monday
Map showing the locations of Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Monday.
25 miles
ISRAEL
Notes: Data is as of midnight local time and is not comprehensive. Some locations were struck multiple times.
Sources: Lebanon’s official news agency; Lebanon’s health ministry; Mapbox; OpenStreetMap
By Lauren Leatherby
It is roughly 300 more than the number of targets Israel struck during the opening three days of its Gaza offensive after the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 — a number that itself was considered unusually high.
During the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, Western fighter jets struck an average of 650 targets a month across a much wider area, according to data published by the Department of Defense.
“Prior to the Gaza war, munitions deployed with this intensity and with this frequency would have been almost unheard-of,” Ms. Tripp said. “There is no comparison in terms of death toll or munitions use with previous 21st-century air campaigns of this nature, as far as we know.”
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired 250 rockets toward Israel on Monday, most of which were intercepted by Israeli air-defense missiles or missed their targets. At least one man was reported to have been wounded by shrapnel. Since October, Hezbollah has fired more than 8,000 missiles toward Israeli positions, according to the Israeli military.
How the Lebanese death toll compares
The Lebanese health minister, Dr. Firass Abiad, said 558 people were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes — an unusually high number by the standards of contemporary war, experts said.
In Gaza last October, it took 18 days for the reported daily death toll to exceed 500. The Monday toll is about half the entire casualty count during the monthlong Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006. And it is far higher than the average daily toll during the Syrian war in 2014, the deadliest year of that decade-long conflict.
Deadliest Day in Lebanon in Decades
558 people killed
in a single day.
500 deaths
400
300
200
100
Daily deaths during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war
Sept. 23,
2024
Sources: Lebanon’s health ministry; Human Rights Watch; United Nations Human Rights Council. Note: Around 400 deaths during the 2006 war were reported but not recorded on a specific day.
By Pablo Robles and Agnes Chang
How the Lebanese government collates the death toll
Lebanon’s health ministry runs an emergency operations center that collects casualty numbers from private and state-run hospitals, collating them to create a national toll from the war, according to health officials.
These figures have historically been viewed as reliable and are cited regularly by the United Nations, which helped the ministry develop the operations center.
Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite militia backed by Iran, does not run the ministry. It is overseen by the government of Lebanon, whose members are split along sectarian and political lines.
Dr. Abiad, a former board chairman at Lebanon’s largest hospital, is generally considered apolitical and won praise and prominence for his data-driven assessments during the coronavirus pandemic. He was first proposed for the role of health minister by Saad Hariri, a Sunni former prime minister who is not allied with Hezbollah, and was formally appointed by Mr. Hariri’s successor.
The ratio of slain combatants to civilians
The Lebanese health ministry does not provide detailed breakdowns of the numbers of civilians and combatants killed. But Dr. Abiad said in a brief phone interview on Tuesday that the “overwhelming majority, if not all,” of those killed and injured on Monday were civilians.
For his statement to be true, the number of civilian men killed in Lebanon on Monday would need to overwhelmingly exceed the combined number of slain women and children. The Lebanese health ministry said that 94 women and 50 children were killed on Monday, or just over 25 percent of the total death toll, but it did not specify the number of slain male civilians.
The Israeli military has said it was targeting military operatives, weapons caches and rocket launchers, many of them hidden in civilian neighborhoods and homes.
Ms. Tripp said the number of slain women and children was “consistent with what we’ve seen in conflicts such as Iraq, but lower compared to the recent Gaza war.”
In Gaza, more than 54 percent of the roughly 34,000 people recently named as victims by the Gaza health authorities were said to be either women or boys and girls under 18. Roughly 7,000 other victims are still to be identified by the health authorities, according to the ministry’s chief statistician.
Lauren Leatherby contributed reporting.
Patrick Kingsley is The Times’s Jerusalem bureau chief, leading coverage of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. More about Patrick Kingsley
Euan Ward is a reporter contributing to The Times from Beirut. More about Euan Ward
Share full article
===
Mjuda Alfred Lisiba
The moment they stop launching missiles into Israel the retaliatory strikes stops
6d
Reply
Adam Baumel
This is what happens when Israel decides to attack heavily populated areas, while again lying that their strikes are precise and meant to reduce civilian casualties.
5d
Reply
Kamala will win there's no question about that
·
Every Muslim in this world may Allah protect Him ,may Allah Guide non Muslims to Islam, Islam is a religion of peace and only true
1w
Reply
Hummus Defender Building Bridges Not Tunnels
“Whoever keeps missiles at home won’t have a home, and neither will their neighbors…. 😇”
1w
Reply
Daniel Cohen
If Israel didn’t have iron dome those numbers would’ve quadrupled 10 months ago
6d
Reply
Richard Denham
They have to defend themselves I stand with Israel and Donald Trump
1w
Reply
James Oakes
Any loss of innocent life is a tragedy. But this violence can be avoided by not being a terrorist.
1w
Reply
Banda Temwani Trywell
All this is because of politics...when will politicians come to their senses and realize that innocent human beings are being un-alived like animals ,500 people in one day is very evil..this is very sad.
1w
Reply
Edited
Tina Burke
If only they free the hostages, this war would surely come to an end.
6d
Reply
Keren Segal
While civilian casualties are all tragic, Hezbollah has been firing missiles daily since 10/8. Just saying.
6d
Reply
Susan Swift
·
Sad. If only Hezzbollaw were to surrender, disband and give up terrorism, there would be peace.
1w
Reply
Connie Costas
It’s war be thankful it’s not billions 🙂
1w
Reply
Val Winters Raines
💔
5d
Reply
Katherine Rosen
BTW. THE UN Human Right's Council is IRAN! 😂
1w
Reply
Katherine Rosen
Not one civilian!!
1w
Reply
Katherine Rosen
Ignore this. The failing @NYT is quoting from terrorist's organizations.
1w
Reply
Judie Amsel
I remember when Lebanon was a thriving country with Christians and Muslim sharing the government. Beirut was called Paris of the Middle East.
6d
Reply
Naomi Isaac-Forster
I live in the north of Israel, we’ve been bombed since the 8/10 - the other side of the country of the massacre & consequent war with Hamas…
We never get any warnings from the Hezbollah even though they target civilian towns - with no military strategic reason for bombing them!
My children are bombed daily for almost a year - and yet the world stayed silent!
Our citizens get warnings from our defence systems & are protected in our safe rooms & shelters…
We unbelievably targeted the Hezbollah with pagers & through their own footage everyone can see most civilian bystanders walked away safely…
Now our IDF gave the Lebanese people warnings to leave their homes that are surrounded by Hezbollah missile launchers aimed at my children - because our war is not with them but the terrorist regime that took over their country!
This is the truth, I’m living it & yet the comments here from people who haven’t a clue, so righteous from the safety of their homes around the world!
We will do what we have to, to protect our children & if our enemies continues with the primitive mindset to be martyrs & reach the 72 virgins they will suffer the consequences!
#IDFheroes
6d
Reply
Edited
Carolyn Canova
Welcome to the reality that ordinary Israelis have been living every day since October 7, 2023, being bombarded with rockets and missiles from Lebanon, with tens of thousands having been displaced from their homes in the north for almost a year. It’s about time they’re finally hitting back.
1w
Reply
Sarah Mertz
I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner. They've been poking the bear (Israel) for months. It's like they wanted this to happen.
1w
Reply
Onyebuchi Arodiogbu
God bless Israel..
1w
Reply
Barbara Drell
If Hezbollah would negotiate a peace and coexist with Israel, the world would thank them!!
1w
Reply
Maya Mikelsone
Did you ever mention how many rockets have been sent to Israel since one year ? Make facts right
1w
Reply
Zaineb Ben Naceur
Israel is a terrorist state !
1w
Reply
Bert Booher
Maybe they should rethink their alliances.
5d
Reply
Gabriel Gunsberg
The headline should read: After a year of incessant and unprecedented Hezbollah rocket attacks, with more than 8,000 rockets fired indiscriminately at Israeli cities and towns, and tens of thousands of Israelis forced to flee their homes, Israel finally responds.
6d
Reply
Edited
Sara Ela
Appalling. Israel is a threat to global security.
1w
Reply
Nuka Hj
Bibi might have become the cruelest person in recent years.
6d
Reply
Robert Redl
You mess with the bull, you get the horns!
6d
Reply
Sarah Bernstein Tennyson
What did they think would happen after 11 months of rockets being launched into Israel?
1w
Reply
Tim Brogan
Hezzbollaw should of never started the war, plain n simple end of story. Read the Bible it tells you who God gave that land too, and he will defend it with Israel and the jews and other faithfuls till the end
1w
Reply
Edited
Greg Clift
The Seeds of Today’s Middle East Strife Were Planted in Beirut https://townhall.com/.../the-seeds-of-todays-middle-east...
6d
Reply
Theodore William Bauer
this is insane.
6d
Reply
Joshua Lavian
You're not noting the fact that thousands of Israelis could have been killed by Hezbollah and Hamas attacks had they not invested in protection systems. It's not Israel's fault that Iran chooses to send money to Lebanon for rockets to fire at Israel, u… See more
1w
Reply
Beck McLaughlin
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
3d
Reply
Mary Nazareth
after Israel took lands from Lebanon and Israel has been bombing Lebanon for years .. and Lebanon doesn’t have IDF or LDF so they needed someone to care enough to protect them from others bombing them and trying to take their country , self defense! and as far as Gaza, Gaza had been occupation by Israel for years. and they said they will bomb Gaza & Lebanon ! and they have been bombing Lebanon for years.. the whole war is about taking the lands, & gas, oil, water, lands from Lebanon & Middle East countries, etc.. and Gaza families & Lebanon families by millions have been massacred & displaced !!! in Gaza & Lebanon no food , no water, no medicine , no restroom, all from this war ? is that humane? No that’s savage! Jesus Christ will not approve or agree with this! And Jesus will come soon to judge the living and the dead ! and not to mention they are putting us all at risk for WWIII etc, may God help the earth 🌎
1d
Reply
Kim Lenox
Killing is evil … doing the devils work!!!
3d
Reply
Adi Koren Maller
8,000 missiles were shot from Lebanon towards Israel in the last year. Just saying...
6d
Reply
Edited
Jimmy Godfrey
Isn't religion wonderful ? Literally fighting over whose god is better.
Incredible !
1w
Reply
Sehar Jakupi
The psychopath is bent on bringing the whole world to disaster and Mr. Magoo is helping him along.
6d
Reply
Stephen Peltier
I think it’s safe to say Israel is still upset
1w
Reply
GB Jen
This is the escalation the U.S. didn’t want. What are we going to do about it?
1w
Reply
Maytal Levi
This coverage would have you believe Hezbollah isn't a terrorist org and hasn't been attacking Israel since Oct 7 in tandem with Iran, Hamas, IGRC, etc.
1w
Reply
Syed Mohammed
Weren’t all the dead hezbollah/military personnel? They’ve been firing rockets for a while now, what else do you expect?
1w
Reply
Edited
Byron Gatewood
Don’t start none, won’t be none.
===
No comments:
Post a Comment