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Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed more than 2,000 people so far — minister

The number of wounded people has come to 9,535, Lebanese Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said

BEIRUT, October 4. /TASS/. More than 2,000 people have been killed and about 9,500 injured in Lebanon in Israeli strikes since the conflict in the Middle East started to escalate almost a year ago, said Lebanese Environment Minister Nasser Yassin.

"Over the past day, 153 airstrikes were recorded, bringing the total number of attacks to 8,967. Thirty-seven people were killed and another 151 were injured. The death toll has reached 2,011 since the start of the escalation, while the number of wounded people has come to 9,535," the minister, who heads the country's emergency response efforts, said in a statement, the Al Wataniya news agency reported.

According to the official, the country has 931 centers for displaced people who were forced to leave their homes as a result of the fighting. The centers are accommodating 172,100 people.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking hostages, including children, women and elderly people. In response, Israel declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. That was followed by an Israeli ground operation in the enclave.

On September 23, Israel started a military operation codenamed Northern Arrows against Hezbollah in Lebanon, carrying out widespread strikes at the group’s military sites. In a strike on September 27 Israel eliminated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Overnight into October 1, Israel announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon.

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