Hello. Satellite imagery has revealed that two weeks of Israeli bombing in Lebanon has caused more damage than a year of cross-border fire with Hezbollah. Ahmed Nour and Erwan Rivault examine the data for us. In Tbilisi, Paul Kirby reports ahead of this weekend's landmark Georgia election, with the opposition framing the poll as a choice between the EU and Russia. And in the United Arab Emirates, bystanders have filmed a massive dust tornado near Dubai. 

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Satellite imagery reveals intensity of Israeli bombing in Lebanon

Damaged buildings in a residential area following an Israeli attack on Dahieh suburb in Beirut. Credit: Getty Images

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Israel's intensified bombing campaign of Lebanon has caused more damage to buildings in two weeks than occurred during a year of cross-border fighting with Hezbollah, according to satellite-based radar data assessed by the BBC. Cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah broke out after the group started firing rockets towards northern Israel on 8 October 2023, the day after its ally Hamas’s deadly attack which killed 1,200 people.

What does the data show?

More than 3,600 buildings in Lebanon appear to have been damaged or destroyed between 2 and 14 October 2024. This represents about 54% of the total estimated damage since cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah broke out just over a year ago. Satellite photos, radar imagery, and military records show recent Israeli bombardment in Lebanon has focused on the southern border region. It has also expanded to central and northern areas, including the Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs.

What does the bombing hope to achieve? 

The Israeli military says air strikes in Lebanon are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental expert from the Pax for Peace organisation, warned that the bombing was "creating a ‘dead zone’ in the south of Lebanon to drive out the population, and making it difficult for Hezbollah to re-establish positions, at the cost of the civilian population". Lebanon's government says up to 1.3 million people have been internally displaced by the strikes. 

What has Israel said?

The Israeli army said it hit thousands of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut. But Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, told the BBC that "collateral damage is inevitable in war". The retired major-general blamed Hezbollah for the conflict and claimed Israel’s ground offensive would force the group out from the border areas.

• At least 19 people, including six women and five children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, a local official has told the BBC. 

• Hezbollah long clashed with Israel, but what is the Lebanese armed group and who is it allied with?

• Israel's ground invasion of southern Lebanon is continuing. The BBC has mapped where fighting is taking place in the country. 

THE BIG PICTURE

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In a warming Arctic, polar bears are spending more of their time on land. Credit: USGS

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As the Arctic warms, polar bears face a growing risk of contracting viruses, bacteria and parasites that they were less likely to encounter just 30 years ago, research has revealed. Our reporter Victoria Gill spoke to experts, who said the study found viruses, bacteria or parasites primarily associated with land-based animals in polar bears. They added that the trend could be linked to ice loss.

And finally... in the United Arab Emirates

Bystanders have filmed a dust tornado near a road close to the city of Sharjah, north of Dubai. Take a look at the spiralling spectacle.