UN refugee agency warns displacement crisis in Lebanon growing amid ongoing conflict

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN refugee agency on Friday warned that the displacement crisis in Lebanon is growing as tens of thousands are fleeing amid the ongoing conflict.

Rula Amin, the UNHCR's senior communications advisor, told a UN briefing in Geneva that the airstrikes on border crossings between Lebanon and Syria are hindering the escape route for people fleeing.

"This morning, we also saw more Israeli air strikes at two border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, and this is hindering and really putting at risk a main lifeline that people use to escape the conflict in Lebanon and cross into Syria," Amin said.

The situation is spilling over to neighboring countries, she said, with over 430,000 people crossing from Lebanon to Syria, including Syrians, Lebanese, and other nationals such as Iraqis and Palestinians.

According to the senior communications advisor, the suffering of people crossing into Syria does not end at the border, as they face another humanitarian crisis in a country that has been devastated by 13 years of conflict.

"The fact that the security situation has been deteriorating means more challenges and obstacles, even for us as humanitarian agencies, to reach all those who are in need of assistance," she said, noting that many people lacking shelter, food, and other basic necessities.

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon since last month against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Israel expanded the conflict this year by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.