‘The damage incurred amounts to 3.5 billion dollars. This includes 2.0 billion for buildings and 1.5 billion for infrastructure,’ such as bridges, roads, and power plants, the head of Lebanon state council for development and reconstruction Fadl Shalak told AFP.

He said that the figures—which do not include the indirect losses to business, industry and tourism—were not final as the authorities still had to undertake a final study.

‘This a huge loss for a small country like Lebanon and this does not include the indirect economic losses. What happened is castastrophic. I have seen all the wars in Lebanon and never seen anything like this.’

Shalak said that infrastructure could be rebuilt relatively quickly, in up to one-and-a-half years, while replacing the lost buildings would require a process taking ‘a minimum of between three and four years’.

He said that even reaching this timetable would require the Lebanese authorities to reach a consensus on rebuilding, rather than letting the country’s various social and religious forces work against each other.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to immediately begin paying money to families living in 15,000 homes completely destroyed in Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon and the Shiite group has already been helping victims in its stronghold of south Beirut.

Shalak said that the most immediate priority for Lebanon was to remove the rubble covering roads and some residential areas and rebuild the bridges that have been destroyed. ‘The country has been left disconnected,’ he said.