Study claims Israel made 22,000 Lebanon overflights over past 15 years

A new study claims that the Israeli air force has made at least 22,000 overflights into Lebanese airspace over the past 15 years alone and expounds on the “psychological effect on the country.”

According to the research, conducted by AirPressure.info and reported in the Guardian, the majority of the incursions into Lebanese airspace have been documented over the last eight and a half years, each lasting an average of four hours and 35 minutes.

Most were allegedly conducted by advanced fighter planes or surveillance aircraft “that basic Lebanese ground defenses offer no match for,” the Guardian adds, citing the study.

The study examines the routes taken by Israeli aircraft and reveals that most of the flights were concentrated in the south of the country, where they appear to follow regular routes. Beirut and other areas north of the capital, close to the Syrian border, also saw Israeli aircraft fly over them.

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who assembled the research, which he says is the most comprehensive of its kind, tells the newspaper that AirPressure.info’s data shows how “regular exposure to overflights by warplanes had taken a toll on those living below.”