Lebanese Minister of Public Health Mohammed Jawad Khalife said on Thursday that about 600 Lebanese civilians had been killed in the ongoing Israeli massive assault in Lebanon, which was launched 16 days ago.

Khalife was quoted by the Lebanese state-run radio as saying that hospitals across Lebanon had received some 400 bodies so far and that about 150 to 200 people were believed to be still buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli air raids.

The health minister said that rescue teams were unable to reach the destroyed buildings and retrieve the bodies of the victims due to intense Israeli bombardments.

Violence erupted in Lebanon on July 12 when Lebanon's Hezbollah guerillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during cross-border attacks and Israel responded by launching a massive onslaught.

Fifty-one Israelis including 18 civilians have been killed in the over-two-week-old conflict.

Editor: Yan