Report: Israel Destroyed A Quarter of Buildings in Lebanon’s South

The analysis unmasked that at least 5,868 buildings have been affected, with nearly half of the structures in the two most severely impacted areas, Ayta Al-Shaab and Kfar Kila, suffering damage.

Almost 80 percent of this destruction has occurred since October 2, the day after Israel initiated its attempted ground invasion.

The rate of destruction has escalated significantly, roughly doubling every two weeks.

The visible devastation caused by Israeli airstrikes and ground invasion is supported by satellite imagery from South Lebanon, verified videos, and analysis of Sentinel-1 satellite radar data, which shows over a dozen controlled demolitions executed by the Israeli military, damaging or destroying at least nine religious sites.

The analysis of the Sentinel data, provided by Corey Scher of the CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University, enabled quantifying and mapping the extensive devastation in Southern Lebanon, as per The Washington Post.

“The use of explosive weapons in urban areas, either from direct targeting with air and artillery strikes or controlled detonation, is rendering large parts of the South uninhabitable,” said Wim Zwijnenburg, a project lead at PAX, a Dutch organization that focuses on the protecting civilians in war as quoted by the newspaper.

This comes shortly after The New York Times published a report detailing the widespread destruction across six villages in Southern Lebanon following Israel's October 1 offensive.

Using satellite imagery, NYT verified that 1,085 buildings were leveled or badly damaged in areas along Lebanon’s Southern border, including the villages of Mays Al-Jabal, Aya Al-Shaab, Blida, and Kfar Kila.

The report described extensive damage, with some villages almost entirely flattened, leaving only a few buildings standing.

The Israeli military claimed that Hezbollah had established infrastructure within civilian areas and that they had issued evacuation warnings before strikes. However, international law experts are raising concerns, noting that civilian structures can only be lawfully targeted if there is concrete evidence of military use.

It is worth noting that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon has risen to 2,867 martyrs, with 13,047 individuals reported injured, as confirmed by the Lebanese Ministry of Health's Operations Center for Public Health on Thursday.