BEIRUT, November 23. /TASS/. At least 596,000 refugees have left Lebanon after Israel launched its military operation against the Shiite party Hezbollah in late September, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

According to it, 557,000 people left for Syria, 37% of them Lebanese and 63% Syrians. Another 39,000 Lebanese left for Iraq.

On September 23, Israel launched an offensive operation, dubbed "Northern Arrows," targeting Lebanon-based Hezbollah’s military facilities, carrying out massive airstrikes across the country. Overnight on October 1, the Israeli army announced a ground operation in borderline regions in Lebanon’s south.