BEIRUT, October 17. /TASS/. More than 746,000 people have fled their homes in Lebanon due to the fighting and escalation of the situation in the Middle East, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Lebanon reported.

"As of October 14, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded 746,584 internally displaced persons [in Lebanon] since October 8, 2023," the report said. "Of these, 188,146 displaced people are accommodated in 1,059 collective shelters, of which 876 (83%) have reached their maximum capacity," the document emphasized.

According to the international organization, 400,000 children have left their homes in Lebanon in the last three weeks alone, creating additional difficulties for the national school system.

On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against Hezbollah units in Lebanon, during which it is carrying out massive airstrikes against the movement’s military facilities. The stated goal is to create secure conditions in Israel’s northern border areas so that tens of thousands of residents can return there. As a result of one of the strikes, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was eliminated in Beirut on September 27. The organization confirmed his death and vowed to continue its confrontation with Israel. In the early morning hours of October 1, the Israeli army announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas in southern Lebanon.