The satellite imagery and radar data used in the report show severe damage to buildings and infrastructure forcing whole communities to flee their homes as both sides teeter on the brink of war.

Israel has carried out a total of 7,491 cross-border attacks, nearly five times as many strikes as Hezbollah, between 8 October 2023 and 5 July 2024. 

The UN says the conflict has displaced over 90,000 Lebanese civilians and claimed the lives of over 100 Lebanese civilians and 366 Hezbollah fighters. On the other side, 60,000 Israelis have been displaced and 33 Israelis, including 10 civilians, have been killed, according to the UN.

The report shows that more than 60 percent of border communities in Lebanon have suffered some form of damage as a result of Israeli airstrikes and artillery. As of 10 July, more than 3,200 buildings have been damaged. 

Data collected by researcher Corey Sher of the New York University Graduate Centre, based on comparisons of two separate images, reveals changes in building height or structure that indicate damage.

The towns of Ayta ash Shab, Kfarkela and Blida were among the most affected. 

Israeli bombardment has extensively targeted Ayta ash Shab with at least 299 attacks since October, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). Buildings along the city's main road, including restaurants and shops, were severely damaged.

Kfarkela was targeted by more than 200 attacks, according to the ACLED website, which led to the destruction of many shops, markets and service facilities in the town centre.

Blida has been bombed at least 130 times since October, according to the ACLED website, damaging several buildings as well as a pharmacy.

The damage was concentrated in the central part of the town where the main services, shops and facilities are located.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have also caused massive fires, leaving farms amongst a once green landscape barren and desolate. 

Reports from Human Rights Watch have confirmed that Israel uses white phosphorus, a substance that can be used as an incendiary weapon, in its attacks on Lebanon. 

The rights watchdog said it "verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities across south Lebanon since October", including five where it was "unlawfully used over populated residential areas"

The use of white phosphorus in inhabited areas is illegal under international law, specifically Article 1 Protocol 3 in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. 

The Israeli military and Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement have been exchanging near-daily fire since the Israeli war on Gaza began on 7 October.