Lebanon Death Toll Surpasses 3,000 13 Months into Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

BEIRUT — The 13-month war between Israel and Hezbollah has killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon, the country's Health Ministry said Monday, more than double the number of people killed since their last major conflict two decades ago.

The war shows no signs of ending, and Israel has said it is carrying out new operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure across Lebanon and parts of Syria while Hezbollah continues to fire dozens of rockets into northern Israel.

Read more: Hezbollah and Israel Stare Into the Abyss

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel a day after Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 started the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran.

For almost a year, the conflict was concentrated in the areas along the border between Israel and Lebanon. The conflict escalated on September 23 with intense Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, leaving hundreds dead and leading to the displacement of nearly 1.2 million people.

Read more: The Myth of Hezbollah Debunked

Israel launched a ground attack on southern Lebanon on Oct. 1, caused widespread devastation in the border areas but did little else on the ground inside Lebanon. Israel says it is destroying Hezbollah weapons and command centers near the border, including an extensive tunnel system built by Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health said 16 people were killed and 90 injured in Sunday's attacks, bringing the death toll to 3,002. At least 13,492 were injured. The department does not distinguish between civilians and Hezbollah fighters in its payments. Israel said hundreds of Hezbollah fighters were killed.

In Israel, 72 people have been killed in Hezbollah attacks, including 30 soldiers, according to the prime minister's office. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Read more: 'We Can't Predict What Israel Will Do.' Inside Lebanon's Fear and Chaos

Also on Monday, Israel announced that it had terminated an agreement to aid the UN mission to the Palestinian refugee agency, the main provider of aid in Gaza.

It was the first step in the implementation of laws passed last week that will cut ties with the group, which Israel says has been infiltrated by Hamas, and ban it from operating in Israel.

The agency, known as UNRWA, denies the allegations and says it is taking steps to ensure its neutrality.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday that it had notified the UN of the withdrawal of the 1967 agreement that supports the work of UNRWA. It said UNRWA is “part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution.”

Israel controls all entry into Gaza, and aid organizations have warned that the law could severely hamper UNRWA's work, creating further obstacles to tackling the massive humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Israel says UNRWA is responsible for only 13% of the aid going into Gaza and says other UN agencies and aid groups can fill the gap. But aid agencies say UNRWA is important, and the agency says Israel's statistics do not account for the important role it plays in coordinating aid delivery.

“Without UNRWA's communication, without UNRWA's platforms … no UN agency can operate at the level it needs to,” said Jonathan Fowler, a spokesman for the agency.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US is clearly not in compliance with the law, and is deeply concerned about the insufficient number of aid trucks entering Gaza. “We have serious concerns about the impact of its full implementation, and our concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, even before Israel passes this law,” he told reporters in Washington on Monday.

The organization provides education, health and other basic services to Palestinian refugees since the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel and their descendants, who now number nearly six million across the region. Refugee families make up the majority of Gaza's population.

The rest of the law will come into effect in three months.

— Lidman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed from Washington.