DUBAI (Reuters) – Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 4,047 people and wounded 16,638 others since Oct. 7, 2023, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a televised press conference on Wednesday.
The attacks have killed 316 children and 790 women, Abiad added.
The conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was ignited by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.
Fighting intensified in September after Israel stepped up attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and conducting heavy strikes on the capital Beirut and throughout Lebanon.
As of late last month, Israeli authorities said Hezbollah strikes had killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and at least 73 Israeli soldiers had been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights, and in combat in southern Lebanon.
The United States and France brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on Nov. 27 in the hope of ending the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the militant group in years. Both sides accuse the other of breaching the truce.
Abiad said Lebanon had registered 67 Israeli attacks on hospitals, that 40 hospitals were directly targeted, and seven hospitals had been forced to close.
Israel says it targets Hezbollah’s fighters and infrastructure.
(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah. Editing by Alison Williams and Mark Potter)
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