BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 4,047 people, most of them since a September escalation, authorities said Wednesday.
A week after a ceasefire took effect, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters that “until now... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded.”
Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he said, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.
Abiad said 316 children and 790 women were among the dead.
A source close to Hezbollah had told AFP that hundreds of the group’s fighters had been killed, without providing a precise figure.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect last week and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
On Monday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 11 people, according to the health ministry, after Hezbollah earlier in the day claimed its first attack on an Israeli position since the truce began.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that “if we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper” into Lebanon, adding that “there will be no immunity” for the Lebanese state, which was not a party to the Israel-Hezbollah war.
