Tuesday, July 25, 2006

The scorecard thus far

From today's Guardian. Speaks for itself, I think.

Lebanese

Yesterday
Civilian deaths 8
Hizbullah deaths 0

Since outbreak
Military deaths 66
Civilian deaths 377
Wounded 1,550+

Israeli

Yesterday
Civilian deaths 0
Military deaths 4

Since outbreak
Military deaths 24
Civilian deaths 17
Wounded 360+

Further detail from Hannah Allam and Dion Nissenbaum:

The two-week death toll passed 400 Monday, and about half of those killed in the Israeli strikes were children, Sami Haddad, Lebanon's economy minister, said in Beirut. The violence has displaced at least 600,000 Lebanese, and the government estimates at least $1 billion in damage to the country's infrastructure.

Humanitarian aid is beginning to trickle in, though most routes south from the capital remained under attack by Israeli airstrikes and it was nearly impossible to distribute supplies to overflowing refugee centers and hospitals under siege, Lebanese officials and aid workers said.

The U.S. military will begin delivering $30 million in assistance to Lebanon on Tuesday, including 100,000 medical kits, 20,000 blankets and 2,000 plastic sheets, said Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who was traveling with Rice. He said the total international appeal for humanitarian aid would be at least $100 million and could grow to $150 million.
It's rather generous of people around the world to pick up the tab for Israel's fit of violence. I could think of another way to raise the funds. But to realize that would obviously require that the world have a functional system of international law, and we know that's not the case.