The death toll from Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has a strong presence, marks the deadliest escalation since the 2006 conflict.
The war between Israel and Lebanon during this period, which included an air, naval and ground campaign by Israeli forces, devastated much of the country. In 2006, Israeli strikes left more than 1,000 Lebanese dead, including about 250 Hezbollah members, while the Lebanese group left 121 soldiers and 43 civilians dead on the opposing side through rocket attacks.
A truce was maintained between Lebanon and Israel in the years between the 2006 war and the outbreak of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel on October 8, 2023.
The ongoing conflict, which has mostly stretched over about four kilometers on both sides of the border, escalated significantly after Israel’s war cabinet formally prioritized the repatriation of displaced residents further north in the territory last Tuesday (17).
Since then, attacks against Hezbollah, many taking place in densely populated civilian areas, have triggered a spike in the death toll, with both Hezbollah members and civilians among the victims.
At least 492 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday (23) and 1,600 people were injured. Women, children and doctors were among the dead and injured, according to information from Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
It is unclear how many of the victims are civilians or Hezbollah members, but many of the locations described by Israel are residential.
As Israeli airstrikes continue to pound southern and eastern Lebanon, sending clouds of smoke billowing out of the country and causing mass displacement of civilians, echoes of the 2006 war are ringing. People are increasingly describing the conflict as a war in all but name. And there are growing fears that the country is on the brink of violence more catastrophic than the war of that period.
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This content was originally published in Lebanon has the most deaths from Israeli attacks since 2006 war on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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