A joint assessment prepared by the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ($$UNDP) revealed an unprecedented scale of destruction to buildings and facilities south of the Litani River during the period between October 23, 2025 and April 29, 2026, with initial direct financial losses estimated at more than $1.384 billion.
The International Technical Assessment relied on a comparison of high-resolution satellite imagery taken before and after the war, using sophisticated analytical models based on geographic artificial intelligence ($$GeoAI) to identify the damaged real estate features, which were supported by desktop visual verification by specialized experts to correct errors, noting that the report was limited to digital analysis without carrying out any field visits or underground facilities.
The shocking numerical results showed that the total number of damaged buildings reached 22,648 buildings, distributed between 11,095 buildings that were completely destroyed and 100% (equivalent to 17,891 housing units), in addition to 2,242 buildings partially damaged, and 9,311 buildings with minor damage, while the report estimated the total volume of the resulting rubble at about 3 million and 107 thousand cubic meters, with a weight ranging between 5.25 and 6.99 million tons of rubble.
Map of Ashes: Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil in the lead
In Nabatieh governorate alone, 8,989 buildings were destroyed, and the town of Aitaroun topped the list of affected areas with 1658 damaged buildings, followed by the city of Bint Jbeil with 1076 buildings, then Mays Al-Jabal with 969 buildings, and Khayyam and Al-Taybeh with 824 buildings, while in the southern governorate, 2106 buildings were destroyed, led by the towns of Burj Al-Shamali and Naqoura.
The news background and documented field reports linked this widespread destruction to violent and vicious Israeli attacks that targeted the destruction of entire neighborhoods and erased them from the border map, which intersected with reports by Human Rights Watch and the international radar network that documented the use of a "scorched-earth" policy and booby-trapped residential blocks, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents and turning entire towns into unviable rubble.
European Movement Faces US Veto and Beirut's Silence
This disaster on the ground has been paralleled by critical diplomatic complications, as Washington is moving towards using its veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent the renewal of the mission of the United Nations Interim Mission (UNIFIL) or its replacement by a UN force, amid European conviction of US President Donald Trump's desire to reduce the role of the international organization, and this coincided with direct Israeli pressure and attacks against international forces since March 2, which resulted in the death of 6 UN soldiers.
European diplomatic sources confirmed to the Lebanese newspaper "Al-Akhbar" that the European Union's military committee ($$EUMC) has submitted an urgent recommendation to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaya Callas, calling for the formation of a joint European force of about 5,000 troops to replace UNIFIL through direct agreements with the Lebanese Army, to fill the military vacuum and ensure the implementation of international commitments and reconstruction.
While UNIFIL Commander General Diodatou Abaniara discussed these proposals with President Joseph Aoun and MPs Nabih Berri, the official position of Nawaf Salam's government is deadlocked, amid a late parliamentary step represented in the signing of a petition by 80 deputies to retain international forces.$UNTSO
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