Costs to Lebanon of Latest Israel-Hezbollah War

 Sukaina al-Muhtadi, 22, who returned to her village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, search for her belongings between the rubble of her destroyed house in Nabatieh town, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)
Sukaina al-Muhtadi, 22, who returned to her village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, search for her belongings between the rubble of her destroyed house in Nabatieh town, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)
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Costs to Lebanon of Latest Israel-Hezbollah War

 Sukaina al-Muhtadi, 22, who returned to her village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, search for her belongings between the rubble of her destroyed house in Nabatieh town, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)
Sukaina al-Muhtadi, 22, who returned to her village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, search for her belongings between the rubble of her destroyed house in Nabatieh town, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)

Lebanon has suffered the deadliest spillover of the regional war ‌triggered by the US-Israeli strikes on Iran more than three months ago, which is set to end with a deal between Washington and Tehran.

The conflict spread to Lebanon on March 2, when Iran-backed group Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran, triggering an Israeli air and ground campaign.

Here are some of the main costs for Lebanon.

CASUALTIES

From March 2 until June 14, the night the US-Iran deal was announced, at least 3,783 people were killed and 11,699 wounded in Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry. The death toll included 247 children, 363 women and 133 healthcare workers. The ministry's figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and Hezbollah has not said how many of its fighters were killed.

The toll surpasses the 3,468 killed in Iran as of late April, when a US-Iran ceasefire was reached.

It is also ‌higher than the ‌ministry's figures for the last Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which lasted from October 2023 ‌to November ⁠2024. That war ⁠saw 3,768 people killed, the vast majority of whom were killed after Israel went on the offensive in September 2024.

At least 28 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon in the latest war, according to a Reuters tally of Israeli military announcements, while four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks. That compares with 73 Israeli soldiers and 45 civilians in northern Israel in the 2023-2024 war.

DESTRUCTION

Israel's airstrikes have damaged and destroyed buildings across Lebanon. Most of the damage has been concentrated in the south, but buildings were also ⁠destroyed in the capital and its southern suburbs.

Israeli troops occupying a southern swathe ‌of the country have also flattened dozens of villages there, ‌saying their aim is to keep residents of northern Israel safe from attacks by Hezbollah fighters embedded in civilian ‌areas.

Buildings damaged in the south within the first month of the war included hospitals, power stations ‌and water pumping stations.

A man who returns to his village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, flashes victory sign as he stands on the rubble of his destroyed house in Nabatieh town, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)

The latest figures from Lebanon's National Council for Scientific Research, which cover the period from March 2 until May 17, show that more than 68,000 housing units across the country have been damaged or destroyed. Nearly 30,000 of those units are in the three southernmost districts of Lebanon, and more than 8,000 in Beirut and ‌its southern suburbs.

In a report published this month, the United Nations Development Program said that in Beirut and the southern suburbs alone, the damage ⁠amounted to $365 million.

DISPLACEMENT

More than ⁠1.2 million people have been displaced by Israel's airstrikes and evacuation warnings across Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.

They include hundreds of thousands of people who fled Beirut's southern suburbs, which Israel's military ordered entirely evacuated for the first time during this war.

Even after the announcement of the US-Iran deal, many displaced did not return home - either because they had no homes to return to or because they were skeptical the ceasefire would hold in Lebanon.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Lebanon's authorities have not yet assessed the full scale of the war's economic impact, but have said that it derailed the country's recovery from a series of recent crises, including the 2023-2024 war, the Beirut port blast of 2020 and the financial collapse of 2019.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told Reuters in May that the war could see Lebanon's economy contract by at least 7% this year.

The 2024 war cost Lebanon at least $8.5 billion in physical damage and economic losses, according to the World Bank. Lebanon's real GDP contracted by 7.1% in 2024, the World Bank said, leading to a cumulative GDP decline of nearly 40% since 2019.



Gaza Tailor Turns Waste Fabrics Into Dresses for Girls

Palestinian dressmakers add skirt hoops to a child's gown, at a workshop where dresses are created including evening and wedding gowns despite limited resources and old dresses are recycled, in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2026. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) /
Palestinian dressmakers add skirt hoops to a child's gown, at a workshop where dresses are created including evening and wedding gowns despite limited resources and old dresses are recycled, in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2026. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) /
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Gaza Tailor Turns Waste Fabrics Into Dresses for Girls

Palestinian dressmakers add skirt hoops to a child's gown, at a workshop where dresses are created including evening and wedding gowns despite limited resources and old dresses are recycled, in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2026. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) /
Palestinian dressmakers add skirt hoops to a child's gown, at a workshop where dresses are created including evening and wedding gowns despite limited resources and old dresses are recycled, in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2026. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) /

A young Gazan girl twirls across the floor of a dressmaker's shop, her white dress billowing around her as a shy smile spreads across her face.

Trimmed with delicate tulle and topped with a soft veil, the dress looks fit for a celebration.

Few would guess that parts of it are from discarded fabric or an old gown salvaged from the ruins of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The dress is the work of 24-year-old tailor Amir al-Rantisi, who has made it his mission to provide elegant dresses for special occasions for young girls and women in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis area.

He does this by recycling used fabrics and old dresses.

"When I go to Gaza (City) to get the fabric, I take it from a place that's been destroyed, from old fabric that's available, which was probably damaged by shrapnel or burnt," Amir told AFP.

"I select pieces from it, and I make dresses from those pieces. I also take old dresses and recycle them."

Palestinian women shop for dresses in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2026. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

Outside the shop, his colorful creations in satin, organza and tulle hang from makeshift mannequins fashioned from iron poles -- vivid splashes of color against a backdrop of grey concrete and blackened buildings.

Several elegant long gowns are displayed on cement mannequins outside the shop, while colorful frocks sway gently from a clothesline stretched across the storefront, allowing customers to inspect the garments with ease.

Inside the workshop, neat rows of ready-to-wear dresses line the walls. Nearby, a customer dressed in a black abaya carefully examines a small dress, considering its intricate details.

The workshop itself hums with activity. On a table beside a collapsed wall, piles of old dresses sit waiting to be given new life as festive creations.

His mother, Nisreen al-Rantisi, works alongside him in the workshop, while another assistant tailor attentively takes the measurements of a young girl.

As Nisreen sorts through the colorful fabrics, selecting the perfect materials for the next creation, the assistant tailor deftly guides his scissors through a length of cloth, skillfully shaping it into what will soon become a beautifully crafted dress.

A Palestinian dressmaker sits at a sewing machine as he assembles a gown in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2026. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

Keeping the business running, however, requires constant improvisation.

"We suffer greatly from power outages," said mother Nisreen al-Rantisi.

"Sometimes, we have orders or work that we can't complete."

Amir has found a way to tackle that too.

He has rigged an old bicycle pedal to his sewing machine, a makeshift solution to keep working through the frequent power cuts that plague the devastated Gaza Strip.

But it is difficult and inconvenient, said his mother.

"Sewing is done manually; one person has to sew while the other has to do the rest," she said.

Meanwhile, the cost of supplies has soared.

With imports into Gaza severely restricted and shortages widespread, even basic materials have become difficult to obtain.

"This spool of black thread is no longer available, and even if it's available, it used to cost seven shekels ($2.40), but now it's 50," said Amir.

Israel controls all entry points into the territory, and the number of trucks carrying foreign aid and private sector goods remains far too low to ease war-inflated prices or shortages, according to NGOs on the ground.

Yet, as the little girl spins once more in her white dress, her eyes wide with joy, Amir's work offers a rare reminder of how residents of Gaza are finding ways to create and celebrate despite the hardships of war.


Netanyahu and Trump on Collision Course as US, Iran Agree to Halt War

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference in Jerusalem, 15 June 2026, following the announcement of a US-Iran mediated preliminary framework to end regional military hostilities. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference in Jerusalem, 15 June 2026, following the announcement of a US-Iran mediated preliminary framework to end regional military hostilities. (EPA)
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Netanyahu and Trump on Collision Course as US, Iran Agree to Halt War

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference in Jerusalem, 15 June 2026, following the announcement of a US-Iran mediated preliminary framework to end regional military hostilities. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference in Jerusalem, 15 June 2026, following the announcement of a US-Iran mediated preliminary framework to end regional military hostilities. (EPA)

Benjamin Netanyahu bet that his joint war alongside Donald Trump would topple Iran's clerical rulers and bolster himself ahead of elections at home, as the architect of a US-Israeli alliance that would reshape the Middle East.

Instead, Israel's longest-serving prime minister is on a collision course with Trump as the US president seeks to extricate himself from the war, with both men's goals unmet and Israeli military operations tied down in Lebanon.

For now, Israeli officials have been cautious in public for fear of angering their most important ally, known for being prickly towards critics.

But in private conversations, the frustration is clear. The preliminary agreement is "terrible for Israel," said one senior Israeli official, giving a frank assessment on condition of anonymity. "And there is no one in the Israeli leadership who views it otherwise, from the prime minister to the chief of staff."

Washington says that over the next 60 days, when a ceasefire is in place, it will negotiate full terms that will address US and Israeli concerns, especially over Iran's nuclear program.

But Israeli officials told Reuters they thought the negotiating period under the deal was likely to be extended, tying Israel's hands from taking military action, while its concerns remain unresolved.

Netanyahu and Trump have repeatedly clashed over Israel's refusal to constrain its pursuit of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand.

At the start of the month, Trump described ‌Netanyahu as "[expletive] crazy" in ‌an angry phone call, ordering him not to strike Beirut while the US was seeking a deal with Iran.

Netanyahu called ‌off attacks ⁠that day, but ⁠struck Beirut's southern suburbs a week later, provoking Iranian missile strikes on Israel and a public rebuke of both sides from Trump.

Hours before the US and Iran announced their interim deal, Israel hit the Lebanese capital again on Sunday, after rockets were launched at Israel from Lebanon, fire Trump described as "small and meaningless".

Netanyahu said that Israel has emerged "strong and steady," with a leadership that stands firm and wise. At a press conference in Jerusalem late on Monday, he acknowledged that he and Trump have sometimes had their differences.

"He is the president of the United States, I am the prime minister of Israel. We many times see eye-to-eye and there are times when we see eye-to-eye less so. I am in charge of Israel's security interests," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu, facing autumn elections he is projected to lose, may be more willing to defy Trump as he contends with an Israeli public that opinion polls show has grown skeptical of the US president's commitment to Israel's security.

"This is ⁠a pretty stark moment of divergence of interests," said Dan Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration, now ‌with the Atlantic Council think tank.

"He will try to not openly oppose (the deal), so as not to get into ‌a brawl with Trump," said Shapiro. "But he will indicate Israel is not bound by it, and Israel reserves its rights."

ISRAEL SAYS IT'S NOT BOUND BY US-IRAN PACT

The memorandum of understanding between the US ‌and Iran is expected to be signed on Friday in Switzerland. While precise terms were not immediately known, mediator Pakistan said the pact called for a permanent halt to military ‌operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Netanyahu said that Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon and maintain “freedom of action” against Hezbollah attacks.

"Iran wanted us to withdraw from it but I stood firm," he told reporters.

"We are keeping our freedom of action and we are keeping the security zone to protect (Israel's) northern citizens," he said.

The interim deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint while leaving the fate of Tehran's nuclear program to be resolved during a 60-day negotiation period towards a final deal.

Two other issues that Netanyahu and Trump had both declared as justifications for the war at its outset - curbing Iran's missile ‌program and ending its support for regional armed groups - are not thought to be on the agenda during those talks.

Three Israeli officials said Israel sees it as very likely the 60-day pact will be extended to 90 days, with the US maintaining ⁠its deployment of military assets in the region ⁠as it negotiates a broader deal.

Two other Israeli officials said that Israel was caught by surprise last week when Trump first said that a deal with Iran was close. They acknowledged that Israel has had little success in influencing the talks.

All of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.

NETANYAHU UNABLE TO SELL THIS AGREEMENT TO ISRAELI PUBLIC, ANALYST SAYS

Netanyahu, who often clashed with Washington under the administrations of Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden, has long portrayed himself to the Israeli public as being uniquely adept in dealing with the Republican Trump.

During Trump's first term, Israel secured major policy changes from Washington, which moved its embassy to Jerusalem and backed the Abraham Accords that brought Israel formal diplomatic ties with the UAE and Bahrain.

On Iran, Trump ditched a nuclear agreement negotiated under Obama that Israel had long complained was too soft.

During elections in 2019, Netanyahu displayed massive campaign billboards in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem showing him and Trump smiling and shaking hands.

But now, the US-Iran pact undermines Netanyahu's case that a close relationship with Trump sets him apart from other candidates for prime minister, said Jonathan Rynhold, a political scientist at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv.

"(Netanyahu) will be unable to sell this agreement to the Israeli public," Rynhold said. "The best that he can hope for is that they fail to reach an agreement and the war restarts to Israel's advantage in 60 days."

According to a poll released on Friday by the Israel Democracy Institute, just 41% of Jewish Israelis think their security is a central consideration for Trump, down from 64% in March.

Eli Cohen, Netanyahu's energy minister, said that Israel would be prepared to act alone if Iran rebuilds its nuclear and missile capabilities, though he said the chances of Tehran taking that step during Trump's tenure were low.

"If Iran tries to renew its nuclear and ballistic missile programs - we will be there and act," Cohen told Israel's public broadcaster Kan.


US-Iran Deal Leaves Major Lebanon Questions Unresolved

Displaced families drive past a man holding the Hezbollah party flag as they drive along the highway through the area of Jiyyeh as they return to their home villages in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
Displaced families drive past a man holding the Hezbollah party flag as they drive along the highway through the area of Jiyyeh as they return to their home villages in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
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US-Iran Deal Leaves Major Lebanon Questions Unresolved

Displaced families drive past a man holding the Hezbollah party flag as they drive along the highway through the area of Jiyyeh as they return to their home villages in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
Displaced families drive past a man holding the Hezbollah party flag as they drive along the highway through the area of Jiyyeh as they return to their home villages in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. (AFP)

A deal between Washington and Tehran that ends the Israel-Hezbollah war leaves many issues in Lebanon unresolved, failing to mention Israel withdrawing from the country or an end to Tehran's support for the armed group.

Under US pressure, Lebanese officials have been holding direct talks with Israel aimed at reaching a separate agreement on ending the hostilities, but Beirut appeared to have been sidelined with the overnight announcement on the regional conflict.

AFP looks at the deal and the questions it raises in Lebanon.

- What does the deal involve? -

Details of the agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts have not been made public, but Iran and mediator Pakistan have both said it includes Lebanon.

Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 3,700 people and displaced more than one million others.

An official source told AFP that "Lebanon was not informed of the terms of the agreement or the time of the ceasefire".

Influential Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally and intermediary for the group, thanked Washington and Tehran for their "insistence on including... an essential and binding clause on halting the Israeli aggression on all of Lebanon".

Hezbollah on Monday had so far not claimed any fresh attacks on Israeli targets.

- Israeli withdrawal? -

Information circulating about the deal does not mention any Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said forces would remain in the country indefinitely.

Karim Bitar, a lecturer in Middle East Studies at the Sciences Po University in Paris, said that "the deal does not seem to involve Israel, which immediately meant that it wasn't a party to it... So it's very unlikely that there will be an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon."

Israeli forces control a strip of Lebanese territory running along the entire border.

A Western military source told AFP that Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River at several points, referring to the waterway running about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the frontier but closer in some areas.

"Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers" are in south Lebanon where they hold some established positions, the source said, adding that Hezbollah still had a presence there.

"It's the biggest invasion since their withdrawal in 2000," the source said, referring to Israel's previous pullout after some two decades of occupation.

Hezbollah says it sent reinforcements south of the Litani after the latest war erupted.

Under a 2024 ceasefire that followed a previous round of hostilities, Hezbollah fighters were supposed to withdraw from the area.

- What future for Hezbollah? -

Washington has pressured Lebanese authorities to disarm Hezbollah for months, but the accord makes no mention of the group.

"Iran doesn't seem to have committed to ending its support and financing for Hezbollah," Bitar said.

Military expert Riad Kahwaji said that "Hezbollah will not agree to give up arms... and this crisis will be protracted."

He said this could lead to political instability and even unrest, "especially now Hezbollah believes that through Iran it has emerged victorious from this agreement, and therefore is going to try and dictate its terms on who rules."

- Lebanon-Israel negotiations? -

Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities and to separate Lebanon from the regional war.

A new round is scheduled for later this month.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Monday that "we will redouble our efforts" through the Washington negotiations "to secure a full Israeli withdrawal."

But after the Iran-US announcement, some cast doubt on the effectiveness of the bilateral negotiations.

Bitar said that "Lebanon could find itself once again as a scapegoat that pays the price both of American amateurism, Iranian cynicism, Israeli hubris and... the lack of a clear strategy from its own political class."