Health Ministry: “Israel” Has Claimed Nearly 9,000 Lebanese Lives Since 2023

By Staff, Agencies

The Lebanese Ministry of Health on Friday released an updated toll documenting the martyrs of “Israeli” aggression against Lebanon since October 8, 2023, reporting 8,915 martyrs and 30,543 wounded.

The ministry said the toll from the latest escalation of the “Israeli” aggression, spanning March 2 to August 21, 2026, has reached 4,348 martyrs and 12,307 wounded.

Meanwhile, the “Israeli” occupation continues its attacks on southern Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire, shelling towns and villages with artillery, conducting airstrikes with warplanes and drones, burning farmland, and demolishing homes and infrastructure.

The escalation comes as Lebanese authorities engage in direct negotiations with the “Israeli” occupation under US auspices. Lebanese political forces, particularly Hezbollah, have rejected the negotiations and urged authorities to abandon what they describe as a grave political mistake.

On Thursday, the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc renewed its call for Lebanese authorities to withdraw from negotiations with “Israel” and declare the ceasefire framework agreement dead.

The bloc accused Lebanese authorities of adopting a defeatist approach that surrenders Lebanon’s rights while failing to uphold their political, sovereign, and diplomatic responsibilities. It said such conduct has emboldened the “Israeli” occupation to continue its massacres and aggression against southern Lebanon.

The bloc cited last week’s massacres in Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani as further evidence of the escalating aggression, in which 11 men and women were martyred, including six members of one family: martyr Ali al-Hajj Hassan, his wife Zeinab Nasreddine, and their four children.