More than 19,000 displaced in Lebanon amid tensions on Israeli border: UN agency

Beirut, Lebanon – AFP

More than 19,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon amid an uptick in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at the country’s southern border, figures released Monday by a United Nations agency showed.

“An increase in cross-border incidents” has resulted in the displacement of 19,646 people in Lebanon, “both within the south and elsewhere within the country”, said the International Organization for Migration.

“We expect the numbers to rise as the cross-border tensions continue” or if there is an escalation in violence, IOM spokesperson Mohammedali Abunajela told AFP in a statement.

Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

Israel’s bombing campaign has killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Hezbollah has launched escalating attacks on Israel, raising fears the group intends open a front from Lebanon in support of ally Hamas.

Israel has carried out cross-border strikes and bombardments on Lebanon, while Palestinian groups have also launched limited infiltration attempts into Israel.

Dozens of communities have been told to evacuate in Israel, while thousands of civilians in Lebanon have fled, many heading to other parts of the south or areas in or outside the capital Beirut.

Lebanon, grappling with political paralysis and a four-year-long economic crisis, has not implemented an evacuation plan, but Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said the country was developing an emergency response “as a precaution”.