Beirut/Jerusalem, April 15 (UNI) The death toll from Israel’s ongoing war in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia has crossed 2,167, with another 7,061 people confirmed to have been wounded, said Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday, though the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The numbers reported by the ministry on Wednesday include casualties reported since the beginning of March, when the IDF amped up its military offensive against the Islamist group, by launching airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s military has also occupied a significant portion of the country’s southern side, where Hezbollah forces have their headquarters, with Jerusalem vowing to continue its operations until the threat posed by the group to Israeli citizens is removed.
Post the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US, the IDF has reduced its attacks on other parts of Lebanon, including limiting its assault on Beirut.
Tehran has strongly condemned Jerusalem’s ongoing attacks against Hezbollah, and has called it a violation of Iran’s agreement with Washington, though Israel has justified its offensive, stating that Lebanon was never a part of the deal, a line also towed by the US, though it has attempted to de-escalate the situation nonetheless by holding direct talks between both Jerusalem and Beirut.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic remains committed to demanding a total end to the ongoing war in Lebanon as part of any final agreement with Washington on a wider peace deal.
“This issue was pursued seriously in [talks in] Islamabad, and it is still being followed up,” ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said on Wednesday in Tehran.
“Any understanding has two sides. If part of an understanding is violated, the other side is also entitled to reduce its commitments in proportion to that violation,” Baqaei said.
