Since early in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, there have been persistent reports of the Israeli military engaging in deliberate destruction operations aiming to entirely destroy the Lebanese Shi’ite villages near the blue line in the far south. New reports reveal the extent of the destruction.
A joint statement from Lebanon’s National Council and the UN Development Program (UNDP) said that through April, 11,095 buildings were completely destroyed south of the Litani River. Since some of those were multi-residential dwellings (mainly apartment buildings), 17,891 residential units were lost.
On top of that, a lot more buildings were damaged, 2,242 partially damaged, and 9,311 more damaged in a minor way. Between the two of them, that’s another 23,500 residential units that have been damaged to varying degrees.
A boy inspects the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli strike in the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon, May 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
The research report was conducted based on satellite images from April 29, which when compared to images from the previous October showed which buildings were leveled or otherwise damaged. Obviously, since the war has raged another two months since, a lot more destruction can be expected.
The BBC had a more recent report regarding the destruction of Christian villages in the area, though they didn’t attempt to quantify it. Though a ceasefire was announced in mid-April, and several more since then, the Lebanese death toll has continued to rise at an alarming rate, so the destruction is unlikely to have slowed all that meaningfully.
The damage through April 29 was estimated at $1.38 billion, and that only includes buildings and specifically does not include bridges or other infrastructure that was destroyed during the war. That would include every single bridge over the Litani River, and a substantial number of solar panels in Debal, so all told the cost of the attacks is probably much higher than the estimate.
The intention is that the civilian population won’t be allowed back at all, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz, who today declared that “200,000 residents will not return,” justifying it on the grounds that when there were civilians in the area there was also resistance to the occupation, so they’re not going to allow that.
