Lebanon Official Says 600 Civilians Killed

07/27/2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Up to 600 civilians are believed to have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, with 382 confirmed dead and the rest either known to be buried under the rubble of buildings or missing, the health minister told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The civilian deaths, combined with casualty figures released by the Lebanese army and Hezbollah guerrillas, bring the confirmed death toll on the Lebanese side to at least 437 killed.

The 382 figure is known because the bodies have arrived at hospitals, Health Minister Muhammed Jawad Khalifeh said.

Police reports to the ministry say another 58 are known to be buried under the rubble of buildings wrecked in Israeli strikes, he said. “We have reports of around 150 people gone missing,” he said.

“We believe around 600 people are dead,” he said. He did not elaborate on why the missing are presumed dead.

The estimated toll would be a large jump over previous Health Ministry reports of 377 civilians killed.

The Health Ministry count does not include 20 soldiers the Lebanese army has confirmed dead or 35 guerrillas whose deaths Hezbollah has acknowledged.

Israel says more than 100 Hezbollah fighters have been killed, but in most cases slain guerrillas - particularly those at the front killed in ground battles - would not be taken to hospitals covered in the ministry count.

Fifty-two Israelis have been killed in 16 days of fighting, including 33 soldiers and 19 civilians who died in Hezbollah rocket attacks into northern Israel.

Lebanese security and rescue officials have frequently reported being unable to reach or clear rubble from homes and buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardment - usually because heavy equipment cannot move to the site for fear of continued Israeli strikes or because workers are busy evacuating wounded.

For example, the bodies of a civilian working for U.N. observers and his wife killed in their home this week took days to extract. Nearly two days after an Israeli strike demolished a U.N. post, killing at least three observers, workers on Thursday still had not pulled out a fourth still inside.

It was not clear how Khalifeh reached the estimate of 150 to 200 still under the rubble. Survivors and witnesses often provide accounts of how many people were inside a destroyed building.