Death Toll from Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Tops 2,500

(MENAFN) Thirteen more people lost their lives and 30 others sustained injuries across Lebanon in a single day, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced Sunday, pushing the overall death toll from Israeli military operations to 2,509 since the conflict erupted on March 2.

The ministry's latest figures also place the cumulative injury count at 7,755 — a staggering toll that has mounted steadily over nearly two months of unrelenting hostilities.

The current wave of violence was ignited by a Hezbollah cross-border offensive on March 2, prompting Israel to unleash a sweeping military campaign across southern Lebanon involving both aerial bombardment and ground troops. The broader region had already been destabilized days earlier, when US and Israeli forces jointly struck Iran on February 28.

Diplomatic efforts to halt the carnage have produced only partial results. A ceasefire first declared on April 16 for a 10-day period was undermined by repeated Israeli violations, yet the agreement was not abandoned. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that Israel and Lebanon had consented to a three-week extension of the truce, brokered during a second high-level meeting at the White House.

Nevertheless, Sunday's death figures cast a long shadow over those diplomatic gains, raising urgent concerns about whether the extended ceasefire can hold — and whether it will come soon enough to shield Lebanon's civilians from further devastation.

MENAFN27042026000045017169ID1111035277