According to the head of the UN refugee agency, at least 100,000 individuals have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in an attempt to escape Israel’s assault. 100,000 Lebanese and Syrian nationals have rushed into Syria from Lebanon in an attempt to escape Israeli bombardment. UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi stated in a post on X on Monday that “the outflow continues.”
Grandi mentioned that the UN agency, in conjunction with local authorities and the Syrian Red Crescent, is functioning at four crossing locations. Lebanon is home to at least 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official statistics provided by UNHCR.
Many of them left Syria to escape the conflict that broke out in 2011 when President Bashar al-Assad brutally put down an initially nonviolent uprising against the regime.
However, the flow has started to reverse in recent days as the Israeli military has stepped up its operations against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, pounding Lebanon with air raids that have killed more than 700 in the last week.
The dramatic escalation comes as Israel has shifted its focus from fighting Hamas in Gaza to its northern frontier, where it has traded nearly daily crossfire with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza in October.Israel’s stated aim in its offensive in Lebanon is to allow the return of tens of thousands of Israeli civilians to their homes in the north of Israel