Beirut: More than 76,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon in almost three months of near-daily fighting along the border with Israel, the UN’s International Organization for Migration has said.
The border area has seen a surge of violence since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in early October, with tit-for-tat exchanges of fire continuing on Friday between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Lebanese ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
In a report published on Thursday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that the escalation has displaced 76,018 people, mainly in areas of southern Lebanon bordering Israel.
More than 80 percent of the displaced Lebanese are staying with relatives, according to the report, and only 2 percent housed in 14 collective shelters spread across the south of the country, mainly in the coastal city of Tyre and in the Hasbaya region.
The rest have rented apartments or moved to homes in areas farther from the border, the UN agency said.
Cross-border violence has left 175 people dead in Lebanon, including 129 Hezbollah fighters and more than 20 civilians, including three journalists, according to an AFP count.
In northern Israel, nine soldiers and five civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
Hezbollah, which conducts daily operations against Israeli soldiers along the border, says it is intervening in support of Hamas in Gaza.
Tensions rose further with a strike on Tuesday that killed Hamas’s number two, Saleh Al-Aruri, in a Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that the assassination, widely attributed to Israel, “will not go unpunished.”
Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas following the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel which left around 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed 22,438 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Israel border violence displaces 76,000 in Lebanon: IOM
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Israel border violence displaces 76,000 in Lebanon: IOM
- Cross-border violence left 175 people dead including 129 Hezbollah fighters and more than 20 civilians
Syrian authorities bust smuggling ring, tighten border controls
- Smugglers' boat collides with rocks as it attempted to flee pursuing as Coast Guard vessels
- The boat was about to illegally transport passengers from the Syrian coast of Tartus coast to Cyprus
DAMASCUS: Syrian Coast Guard forces have arrested members of a human smuggling network operating in the western town of Tartus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Saturday.
Authorities pounced on the smugglers as they were about to transport passengers from the Tartus coast to Cyprus by illegal means, the state media said, citing a statement from the General Authority of Ports and Customs.
"The operation resulted in the arrest of all those involved, including the organizers of the trip," said the report, adding that the smugglers' boat attempted to escape as Coast Guard vessels surrounded it, but collided with rocks.
No details were made available on how many suspects were arrested and how many passengers were rescued. Criminal charges are being prepared against the arrested suspects, SANA said.
New restrictions on commercial transit
In a separate move to regulate trade and border security, the ports and customs authority has issued a new policy restricting truck access at land crossings and seaports.
Commercial trucks will now only be permitted entry for loading or unloading upon presentation of an original receipt from the Ministry of Transport’s freight office.
The transfer of cargo between Syrian and non-Syrian vehicles must now take place strictly within designated customs yards at border crossings.
Trucks passing through Syria in transit remain permitted, provided they are under a mandatory customs escort between entry and exit points.
