Lebanon's environment minister reveals rising civilian casualties, displacements amid ongoing Israeli offensive
The death toll from Israeli airstrikes since last Oct. 8 has reached 1,247, including women and children, with some 5,278 injured, a Lebanese official said Wednesday.
“The number of martyrs has reached 1,247, and the injured number 5,278, most of them civilians, including children and women, since Oct. 8,” Lebanese Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin said, citing the date Israel launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip, one day after a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas.
As Yassin made the remarks at a press conference at the Government Palace in Beirut, Israeli bombardments intensified across various regions in the country, particularly in the south.
Yassin also said the registered number of displaced persons in emergency shelters represents about 30% of the total displaced, estimating that over 150,000 individuals have fled, especially from southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
He highlighted that the displaced people are spread from Wadi Khaled and Akkar in the north to the capital Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and areas in the Bekaa Valley such as Zahle, Matn, Aley, and Chouf.
He added that communication has been established with friendly Arab nations that have expressed readiness to assist with urgent needs and that aid from Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, and other supportive countries will soon arrive.
Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday morning, killing nearly 610 people and injuring over 2,000 others, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.
