Health ministry reports 47 deaths in past 24 hours, thousands injured
Emergency personnel work at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in central Beirut’s Bachoura neighbourhood, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 18, 2026 PHOTO: REUTERS
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that 1,189 people had been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, including 47 in the previous 24 hours.
The number of injured reached 3,427, the ministry said in a statement. The toll included 124 children and 86 women.
The Israeli military had carried out airstrikes and a ground offensive in southern Lebanon following a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.
The offensive came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28, which had killed thousands of people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran responded with waves of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting global markets and aviation.
