MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/. More than 90,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in south Lebanon from September 17 to 24 and seek shelter in other parts of the country following a sharp escalation of an armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a press release.

"Following significant escalation in the armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon on 23 September, and the subsequent arrival of Palestine Refugees from the south seeking shelter in safer areas, UNRWA started the emergency response in Lebanon," the agency said. It noted that according to the UN International Organization for Migration, "additional 90,530 persons have been displaced from 17 to 24 September."

UNRWA added that as a result of intensive air strikes, "most of the displaced are fleeing the southern district and Nabatieh, heading towards Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and from eastern districts including Baalbeck-Hermel and Akkar." "The city of Saida (in the south) has reportedly experienced a large influx of displaced persons, leading to shortages of basic supplies as bread and drinking water," the agency reported. "The Government of Lebanon (GoL) and other institutions are stretched beyond capacity, affecting in particular the overwhelmed health care sector struggling to treat hundreds of wounded," UNRWA said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.

Against this background, tensions began to rise on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Since October 8, 2023, ongoing cross-border strikes on Israel from Lebanon’s territory have prompted return fire from Israeli forces, who, according to military reports, are targeting Hezbollah facilities. To date, approximately 80,000 people have been evacuated from northern Israel.