About Hyacinth
News without the noise.
Social media turned news into a feed designed to keep you angry and scrolling. Algorithms pick what you see based on what gets clicks, not what matters. In conflict zones, it's worse. WhatsApp groups might be enemy psyops. Local outlets might be compromised. You can't trust any single source, and you shouldn't have to.
Hyacinth pulls from dozens of independent sources, clusters related stories, and strips away the noise. Every article is classified by event type, tagged by severity, and geocoded. Stories are grouped by what they're about, not by what drives engagement. The result is a feed built for understanding, not attention.
Read what happened. Close the tab. Get on with your day.
Why “Hyacinth”
The hyacinth flower is native to West Asia. Lebanon, Syria, the eastern Mediterranean. In Greek mythology, it grew from the blood of Hyacinthus, Apollo's beloved. Grief-stricken, Apollo refused to let Hades claim him. From the blood-soaked earth the hyacinth grew, and on its petals Apollo inscribed the words of lamentation, AI AI, “alas, alas.”
The zionist occupation of Palestine, and the wars it has brought to West Asia, have cost hundreds of thousands of lives* over the past century. Hyacinth was named for that loss, and for a region where “alas” is what so many have been made to feel.
▶* Deaths in All Arab-Israeli Conflicts, 1948-2026
Data sourced from UN agencies, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Britannica, B'Tselem, The Lancet, and peer-reviewed research.
| Conflict | Arab / Palestinian | Israeli | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. The Nakba and First Arab-Israeli War (1947-1949) | |||
| 1947-48 Civil War in Mandatory PalestineNov 1947 - May 1948Wikipedia - 1948 Palestine War | ~3,000-5,000 | ~2,000 | ~2:1 |
| 1948 Arab-Israeli WarMay 1948 - Mar 1949Britannica - 1948 Arab-Israeli War | ~8,000-13,000 | ~3,700-4,000 | ~3:1 |
| II. Suez / Sinai War (1956) | |||
| Suez Crisis / Sinai WarOct-Nov 1956EBSCO - Battle of SinaiPalQuest - 1956 Warnote | ~1,000-3,000+ | ~189 | ~10:1 |
| III. Six-Day War (1967) | |||
| Six-Day War5-10 June 1967Britannica - Six-Day WarPBS - Six-Day War | ~15,000-21,000 | ~700-800 | ~23:1 |
| IV. War of Attrition and Occupation (1967-1973) | |||
| War of Attrition (Egypt-Israel)1967-1970Wikipedia - Arab-Israeli Conflict | ~10,000 | ~700-1,000 | ~12:1 |
| Early Occupation (West Bank and Gaza)1967-1987MERIP - Israel and Palestinians 1948-1988note | ~3,000-5,000 | ~1,000-2,000 | ~3:1 |
| V. Yom Kippur War (1973) | |||
| Yom Kippur / October War6-25 Oct 1973War History - Yom Kippur WarEBSCO - Yom Kippur War | ~19,000-20,000 | ~2,500-2,800 | ~7:1 |
| VI. Israeli Invasions of Lebanon (1978 and 1982) | |||
| Operation LitaniMar-Jun 1978Wikipedia - Israeli-Lebanese Conflictnote | ~1,000-2,000 | ~20 | ~75:1 |
| 1982 Lebanon WarJun 1982 - 1985Washington Post - War Casualties 1982Wikipedia - Sabra and Shatila Massacrenote | ~17,000-20,000 | ~675 | ~27:1 |
| VII. Palestinian Intifadas (1987-2010) | |||
| First IntifadaDec 1987 - Sep 1993B'Tselem - First Intifada TablesBritannica - Intifada | ~1,087-1,500 | ~160-200 | ~7:1 |
| Oslo Period1993-2000B'Tselem - Statistics | ~600-1,000 | ~300-500 | ~2:1 |
| Second IntifadaSep 2000 - Sep 2010B'Tselem - Second IntifadaUN/OCHA - Fatalities 2000-2007note | ~6,371 | ~1,083 | ~6:1 |
| VIII. Gaza Wars (2006-2022) | |||
| 2006 Lebanon WarJul-Aug 2006HRW - Why They DiedBritannica - 2006 Lebanon War | ~1,109-1,191 | ~165 | ~7:1 |
| Gaza Wars (Cast Lead, Pillar of Defense, Protective Edge, Guardian of the Walls)2008-2021UN OCHA - Humanitarian FactsWikipedia - Gaza War Overview | ~3,800-6,400 | ~90-300 | ~30:1 |
| IX. Gaza War and Lebanon War (2023-present) | |||
| Gaza WarOct 2023 - ongoingWikipedia - Casualties of the Gaza WarThe Lancet - Casualty AnalysisMiddle East Eye - Palestinian Deathsnote | 73,188+ (GHM, Feb 2026), ~100,000+ (Lancet) | ~2,039 | ~36:1 |
| Lebanon-Israel WarOct 2023 - Nov 2024Al Jazeera - Lebanon Death TollAmnesty - Lebanon Civilian Deaths | ~3,823+ | ~121 | ~32:1 |
| Cumulative Total1948-2026, direct deaths only | ~150,000-200,000+300,000+ with indirect deaths (Lancet) | ~14,000-16,000 | ~12:1 |
Sources: UN OCHA, B'Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Britannica, PBS, MERIP, Al Jazeera, CNBC/UN data, The Lancet (peer-reviewed), Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, EBSCO Research Starters, War History, Wikipedia.
Scope: Arab/Palestinian deaths covers those killed by Israeli military forces, operations, or Israeli-backed militias (e.g. Sabra and Shatila). Israeli deaths include IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians killed by Arab state forces or Palestinian armed groups.
Legal context: As of 2026, the International Court of Justice is reviewing a genocide case against Israel. The UN Commission of Inquiry concluded in Sep 2025 that four of the five acts of genocide as defined by the Genocide Convention have been committed in Gaza.
Excluded: Indirect deaths from displacement, disease, famine, and denial of medical access. Palestinian-on-Palestinian deaths. Deaths in Arab states not directly attributed to Israeli operations.