Lebanon Civilian Toll Rises to 2,969 Killed, 9,112 Wounded Since March
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health updated the cumulative casualty toll on Saturday to 2,969 killed and 9,112 wounded since 2 March, when Hezbollah’s missile fire at Israel three days into the US-Israeli war on Iran triggered the renewed conflict, Al Jazeera’s live coverage reported. The Friday strike on a civil-defence centre in Harouf, which killed six people including three paramedics, was the proximate trigger for the updated count and was reported in detail by Reuters and the BBC overnight.
The Tyre district saw at least 37 wounded in Friday’s separate Israeli strikes, including six hospital personnel, nine women and four children, the Lebanese health ministry said. United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza called the toll “unacceptable”. The Israeli military has said it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives since hostilities escalated, including hundreds of members of the Radwan Force, and struck over 5,000 Hezbollah targets. Nineteen IDF soldiers and one Defence Ministry civilian contractor have been killed in southern Lebanon over the same period.