‘Tens of thousands’ have fled southern Lebanon amid Israeli strikes, UN says

FRANCE 24

24 September 2024 at 6:05 am·1-min read

"Tens of thousands" of people in Lebanon have fled their homes since Monday amid Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah targets in the south of the country, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday. The UN children's agency UNICEF separately said further escalation in the conflict, which has so far killed more than 550 people including 50 children, "will be absolutely catastrophic for all children in Lebanon".

The United Nations said Tuesday that tens of thousands of people had fled their homes in Lebanon since Monday amid continuing Israeli strikes.

"We are gravely concerned about the serious escalation in the attacks that we saw yesterday," UN refugee agency spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva.

"Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes yesterday and overnight, and the numbers continue to grow," he said.

The death toll from Israeli air strikes in Lebanon since early Monday has reached 558, including 50 children and 94 women, the Lebanese health ministry said Tuesday.

Longtime foes Hezbollah and Israel have been locked in near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire since Palestinian militant group Hamas staged an unprecedented attack on Israel last October 7.

Monday's bombardment of Lebanon was by far the largest, not just in the past year, but since the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in the summer of 2006.

"The toll on civilians is unacceptable."

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