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Getty ImagesIsraeli military attack on Beirut’s Dahieh suburb damages buildings in residential area
Israel’s stepped-up bombing of Lebanon has caused more building damage in two weeks than during a year of cross-border fighting with Hezbollah, according to satellite radar data assessed by the BBC.
According to the data, more than 3,600 buildings in Lebanon appear to have been damaged or destroyed between October 2 and 14, 2024. This represents about 54% of the total estimated losses since cross-border hostilities broke out between Israel and Hezbollah just one year ago.
Damage data was collected by Corey Shah of the City University of New York and Hamon van den Hoek of Oregon State University. They compared radar satellite images and revealed sudden changes in building height or structure that indicate damage.
Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental expert with the Pax for Peace organization, reviewed satellite-based radar data and warned of the impact of Israeli bombing.
“Israeli military operations appear to be creating a ‘dead zone’ in southern Lebanon to displace the population, making it difficult for Hezbollah to reestablish its positions at the expense of civilians,” he said. said.
Cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8, 2023, a day after ally Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel, when Lebanese militants moved into northern Israel and its environs in support of Palestinians. It started when they started firing rockets.
In a dramatic escalation, Israel invaded southern Lebanon on September 30, the report said, destroying Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure in “limited, localized and targeted attacks.”
Satellite photos, radar images and military records show that recent Israeli artillery fire in Lebanon has been concentrated in the southern border area. It has also expanded into central and northern regions, including the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli military said it had attacked thousands of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut.
Most attacks on Beirut have targeted the southern suburb of Dahieh, which is home to thousands of civilians. The Israeli military claims that Hezbollah’s headquarters are located in the area.
A series of Israeli military attacks on buildings in the area killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 27.
Separate data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled) analyzed by the BBC shows at least 2,700 attacks by Israeli forces on Lebanese areas between September 1 and October 11, 2024. There is. It focuses on the southern border regions but also expands into the northern and central regions. Each Israeli attack may include several bombing raids.
According to Akredo, Hezbollah carried out approximately 540 attacks against Israel during the same period. Hezbollah attacks can include barrages of rockets, missiles, and drones.
The Israeli military said the airstrikes in Lebanon targeted Hezbollah infrastructure.
It regularly adds that it wants to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of Israeli border areas displaced by attacks by Iranian-backed groups.
Around 60,000 people have fled northern Israel due to near-daily attacks by Hezbollah. However, some of the rockets reached further south, damaging homes in and around the coastal city of Haifa.
Hezbollah reiterated that it will continue firing rockets at Israel unless a ceasefire is reached. The organization’s deputy secretary-general insisted that the rockets would be focused on military targets, but warned that Hezbollah had the right to attack anywhere in Israel in response to its attacks across Lebanon.
On the Lebanese side, many Israeli airstrikes targeted the city of Tire, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut, according to a BBC analysis of the latest monthly data collected by Akred.
Lebanon’s government says up to 1.3 million people are internally displaced, while Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned of the “largest scale of displacement” in the country’s history.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued evacuation orders for residents across the country, including in the Beirut area.
In the south, the military told residents of several villages to leave their homes and “head just north of the Awari River,” which joins the coast about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Israeli border.
“This is a humanitarian disaster,” Gabriel Carlson, Middle East director for the British Red Cross in Beirut, told the BBC.
He said there are not enough shelters to accommodate so many evacuees.
“We saw children sleeping on the streets,” Carlson added, urging humanitarian organizations to coordinate efforts to address the growing crisis.
Lebanese authorities said at least 2,350 people were killed and more than 10,000 injured in the Israeli attack. Lebanon’s health minister said many of the casualties were civilians.
According to Israeli authorities, the Hezbollah attack left 60 people dead and more than 570 injured on the Israeli side.
“Collateral damage is inevitable in war,” former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told the BBC.
The retired major general blamed Hezbollah for the war and claimed that Israeli ground attacks would drive Hezbollah out of the border area.
But Zwijnenburg, of the Pax for Peace organization, warned of the impact of Israeli military operations on civilians and populated areas.
“The intense blast radius has killed and seriously injured nearby civilians,” he said, referring to Israeli airstrikes.
“Open source data combined with satellite imagery also shows that civilian infrastructure such as irrigation canals, gas stations and power grids have been damaged and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating,” he added.
Additional reporting by Paul Cusiac and Maria Rashed
