Lebanon says 1,540 people killed by Israel since Oct. 8

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - Lebanon said Thursday that the death toll from Israeli assaults across the country hit 1,540 since last October.

The Disaster Risk Management Unit said in a report the number injured stands at 5,410 and “the number of displaced individuals registered in approved shelters had risen to 77,100 by Wednesday afternoon.”

The report said shelters in public facilities have increased to 565, including public schools, educational complexes, vocational institutes and agricultural centers.

It noted that thousands more have traveled by air or crossed Lebanese territory to Syria, and the agency estimated that the actual number far exceeds the official count

The statement indicated that during the last two days, the General Security registered the passage of 15,600 Syrian nationals and 16,130 Lebanese citizens into Syrian territory.

Regarding Israeli assaults, the report stated that since Monday, there had been 7,034 airstrikes or bombings, 248 phosphorus bombings and 133 instances of gunfire.

Israel has pounded Lebanon since early Monday in strikes that have killed at least 677 victims and injured more than 2,500, according to figures released by the Health Ministry.

The Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's onslaught against Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio