BEIRUT, October 29. /TASS/ At least 440,000 people have fled from Lebanon since Israel launched its military operation against Hezbollah in late September, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Lebanon said.

According to a report from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), since September 23, 440,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria.

Also, more than 22,000 Lebanese people have arrived in Iraq since the escalation of hostilities.

On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah Shia movement, carrying out massive airstrikes on its military targets. The Israeli army announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon in the early hours of October 1.