Satellite imagery reveals intensity of Israeli bombing

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Satellite imagery reveals intensity of ******** ********

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Damaged buildings in a residential area following an ******** ******* on Dahieh suburb in Beirut

*******’s intensified ******** campaign of Lebanon has caused more damage to buildings in two weeks than occurred during a year of cross-border fighting with Hezbollah, according to satellite-based radar data assessed by the BBC.

Data shows that more than 3,600 buildings in Lebanon appear to have been damaged or destroyed between 2 and 14 October 2024. This represents about 54% of the total estimated damage since cross-border hostilities between ******* and Hezbollah broke out just over a year ago.

The damage data was gathered by Corey Scher of City University of New York and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University. They compared radar satellite images to reveal sudden changes in the height or structure of buildings which indicate damage.

Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental expert from the Pax for Peace organisation, reviewed the satellite-based radar data and warned of the impact of *******’s ********.

“The ******** military campaign seems to be creating a ‘***** zone’ in the south of Lebanon to drive out the population, and making it difficult for Hezbollah to re-establish positions, at the cost of the civilian population,” he said.

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Cross-border hostilities between ******* and Hezbollah broke out after the armed Lebanese group started ******* rockets in and around northern ******* in support of Palestinians on 8 October 2023, the day after its ally ******’s deadly ******* on southern *******.

******* invaded southern Lebanon in a dramatic escalation on 30 September to ********, it said, Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in “limited, localised, targeted raids”.

Satellite photos, radar imagery, and military records show recent ******** bombardment in Lebanon has focused on the southern border region. It has also expanded to central and northern areas, including the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The ******** army said it hit thousands of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut.

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Most of the strikes on Beirut have targeted Dahieh, a southern suburb that is home to thousands of civilians. The ******** military claims the area is home to Hezbollah’s command headquarters.

A series of ******** strikes on buildings in the area ******* Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on 27 September.

Separate data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled), which has been analysed by the BBC, indicates at least 2,700 attacks by the ******** military on Lebanese areas from 1 September until 11 October 2024. While these attacks primarily focus on southern border areas, they have also extended to northern and central regions.

Hezbollah has carried out around 540 attacks against ******* in the same timeframe, according to Acled. Each Hezbollah ******* can include a barrage of rockets, missiles and drones.

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The ******** military says air strikes in Lebanon are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

It regularly adds it wants to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of ******** border areas displaced by attacks from the Iran-backed group.

About 60,000 people have been evacuated from northern ******* because of near-daily attacks by Hezbollah. But some rockets have reached further south and damaged homes in and around the coastal city of Haifa.

On the Lebanese side, many ******** air strikes targeted the city of Tyre, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut, according to the BBC’s analysis of the latest monthly data collected by Acled.

Lebanon’s government says up to 1.3 million people have been internally displaced, whilst Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned of the “largest displacement” in the country’s history.

The ******* Defense Forces (IDF) has been issuing evacuation orders to residents across the country, including areas of Beirut.

In the south, the army instructed residents of several villages to leave their homes and “immediately head north of the Awali River,” which meets the coast about 50 km (30 miles) from the ******** border.

“This is a humanitarian catastrophe,” Gabriel Karlsson, Middle East Manager at the British Red Cross in Beirut, told the BBC.

He said there are insufficient shelters to accommodate so many evacuees.

“I saw children sleeping in the streets,” Karlsson added, urging humanitarian organisations to coordinate their efforts to address the escalating crisis.

Lebanese officials say at least 2,350 have been ******* and over 10,000 injured in ******** attacks. The Lebanon health minister said many casualties were civilians.

On the ******** side, 60 people have been ******* and more than 570 wounded by Hezbollah attacks, ******** authorities say.

“Collateral damage is inevitable in war”, Amos Yadlin, the former head of ******** military intelligence, told the BBC.

The retired major-general blamed Hezbollah for the war and claimed *******’s ground offensive would force the group out from the border areas.

Zwijnenburg, from the Pax for Peace organisation, however, has warned of the impact of *******’s military campaign on civilians and the populated areas.

“The heavy blast radius ****** and maims civilians nearby”, he said, in reference to ******** air strikes.

“Open-source data combined with satellite imagery also showed that civilian infrastructure such as irrigation channels, gas stations and electricity grids were damaged, which is worsening the humanitarian situation,” he added.

Additional reporting by Paul Cusiac and Maria Rashed

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