The United Nations Development Programme, in coordination with the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon, revealed the results of a rapid assessment of damage to buildings in southern Lebanon, showing the extent of the widespread destruction that affected the areas south of the Litani River, especially in the districts of Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Nabatieh, Tire and Sidon.
The program announced that the total direct damage to buildings in southern Lebanon is estimated at approximately 1.38 billion US dollars, while the volume of rubble is estimated at approximately 3.1 million cubic metres.
According to the results, the complete destruction of 11,095 buildings was recorded, affecting 17,891 housing units, while 2,242 buildings were partially damaged, equivalent to 5,219 housing units, in addition to 9,311 buildings being exposed to minor damage, including 18,282 housing units.
The data showed that the most damaged properties in terms of the number of completely destroyed buildings were distributed in the Bint Jbeil district between Ainatha, where 1,658 buildings were destroyed, and Bint Jbeil, where 1,076 buildings were destroyed, and in the Marjayoun district between Mays al-Jabal with 969 buildings, and Taybeh with 824 buildings, followed by Burj al-Shamali with 370 buildings, and Naqoura with 216 buildings in the Tyre district.
The evaluation adopted a methodology based on geo-artificial intelligence, supported by visual office verification operations, without implementing field verification operations.
High-resolution satellite images taken on April 29, 2026 were compared with reference images dating back to October 23, 2025, allowing the visual damage associated with the conflict to be monitored, including roof collapses, structural deformations, and the accumulation of rubble at the building footprint level.
The volume of rubble and the cost of damage were also calculated using building footprints, number of floors and standard replacement costs, in line with UNDP methodology and previous assessments.
Although the assessment provides a comprehensive and reliable picture of the extent of the damage, it does not include basements or underground facilities, nor damage to vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges, electricity, water, and communications networks.
The figures also reflect the situation up to April 29, 2026, and do not take into account the ongoing recovery or reconstruction work.
The program indicated that the assessment was conducted using high-resolution satellite images, and based on a geo-artificial intelligence model specially trained for this purpose, and that the results of the model were subsequently subjected to a systematic visual verification process conducted by the UNDP team at the level of each individual building.
This process confirmed the accuracy of the adopted methodology, as the overall accuracy rate reached about 85 percent, which provides a high level of confidence in the final results.
This assessment comes as a continuation of the previous assessment for Beirut and Mount Lebanon, within the framework of documenting direct damage to buildings, which constitutes a basic database for estimating the extent of needs, and determining priorities for recovery and reconstruction in the most affected areas.
