Since 7 October 2023, AOAV has recorded 4,285* casualties as a result of explosive violence in Lebanon, with Israel accounting for 99% of all casualties recorded. The total includes at least 28 women and 60 children.
96% of casualties recorded have occurred in populated areas, specifically, 87% (3,710) occurred across urban residential areas.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) accounted for 78% (3,286) of casualties recorded since October 2023, largely due to the recent attacks which caused thousands of pagers and walkie talkies to explode across both Lebanon and Syria on 18 and 19 September. Air launched weapons accounted for 21% (889) of casualties.
Over the past six months, as tensions increase between Hezbollah and Israel, there has been a sharp increase in casualties, particularly in September, due to the double attacks which has caused a 3,756% increase in casualties since March 2024, and a 5,891% increase since 7 October 2023.
Most recently, this afternoon, an Israeli air strike on an urban residential neighbourhood in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has caused widespread damage. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) claims to have targeted a key Hezbollah facility in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, but it is likely to have caused significant civilian casualties.
The preliminary toll of casualties stands at 3 people killed and 17 injured, but it is likely to increase further.
AOAV’s executive director Dr. Iain Overton has said ‘”The tragic number of civilian casualties recorded in Lebanon highlights the urgent need for international scrutiny and a commitment to protecting innocent lives amid escalating violence. As these numbers continue to rise, we must confront the human cost of military actions in populated areas.”
*The figures given in this article refer to the number of reported casualties, including both civilians and armed actors, killed or injured by explosive weapon use in Lebanon since 07 October 2023, gathered using incident-specific English language media reporting. See AOAV’s methodology. Given the targeting of Hezbollah pagers and radios, without tangible evidence that those killed or injured were either Hezbollah or civilians, AOAV is refraining at this point from distinguishing between civilians or armed actors until further data is provided.
AOAV’s casualty figures represent the lowest of estimations in terms of the number of people killed and injured by explosive weapon use. In an effort to quantify the explicit harm caused by specific explosive weapons, AOAV solely records incident-specific casualty figures, as reported in English-language media.
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. All actors should stop using explosive weapons with wide-area effects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians.