The damage caused by Israeli bombardments in southern Lebanon, after seven months of fire exchange between Hezbollah and Israel, amounts to around $1.5 billion, the head of the Southern Council, Hashem Haidar, told AFP on Wednesday.

According to Haidar, Israeli bombardments and raids have caused considerable damage to infrastructure, estimated at “around 500 million dollars.”

The damage mainly concerns essential services and roads. “80% of the statistics were collected by our teams on the ground,” he added.

The Southern Council obtains its information on these territories from “engineers, presidents of municipal councils and local elected officials, who provide us with the data they have.”

Journalists are unable to reach the border areas due to the intensity of the shelling and the destruction of the main roads.

Ambulance drivers and rescue workers, in turn, report considerable destruction in villages that have been completely deserted.

In its latest report, the United Nations indicates that the escalation has displaced over 93,000 people in Lebanon. Israel claims to be targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and positions, but thousands of homes have been partially or totally damaged, according to the authorities.

The Southern Council estimates that there are “1,700 houses completely demolished,” in addition to “14,000 damaged homes.”

The bombardments also targeted agricultural fields with white phosphorus bombs.

The Lebanese authorities are awaiting a ceasefire to assess the damage, but the compensation process remains unclear, while the country remains in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis since 2019.

Human casualties

In terms of human casualties, the violence in southern Lebanon had claimed 1,413 victims by May 7 – 351 dead and 1,062 wounded. According to the Ministry of Health, 88% of the victims were men, 95% were Lebanese and 58% were aged between 25 and 44 years old. Also according to the Ministry, 45% of cases were the result of trauma caused by bombardments, 35% by explosions and 17% by exposure to chemical products.