'Israel' destroyed a quarter of buildings in Lebanon’s South: WaPo

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Washington Post
1 Nov 2024 09:25

The Washington Post's latest report on Lebanon describes extensive damage in South Lebanon, with nearly a quarter of all buildings in 25 municipalities being damaged or destroyed as of Saturday.

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A civil defense worker inspects destroyed houses that were hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Chebaa, a Lebanese town near the border with occupied Palestine, South Lebanon, June 26, 2024. (AP)

An analysis of satellite data by The Washington Post revealed that nearly a quarter of all buildings in 25 municipalities near the occupied Palestinian borders have been damaged or destroyed as of Saturday, highlighting the extensive impact of the brutal Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

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% of this destruction has occurred since October 2, the day after "Israel" initiated its attempted ground invasion.

Israel has damaged or destroyed nearly a quarter of buildings in Lebanon’s south, impacting more than 5k structures, including at least nine religious sites demolished in controlled explosions, a WaPo analysis has found pic.twitter.com/BRnJwEpxuV
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) October 31, 2024

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

'Israel's' explosive weapons make southern Lebanon uninhabitable

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.

South Lebanon |

I’m not an expert in international law, but this doesn’t seem like self-defense—it looks like pure terrorism.

Found on a soldier account pic.twitter.com/39tBP75KBT
— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) October 27, 2024

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, Ayta 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.