A New Wave of Refugees Due to Heavy Israeli Attacks on Lebanon

The United Nations reports that nearly 900 refugee camps in Lebanon are full, and many who have been forced to leave their homes due to escalating Israeli attacks are spending nights in streets and parks. Rola Amin from the UN Refugee Agency announced this on Friday, October 5. She also mentioned that discussions are ongoing with local Lebanese officials to find and allocate new locations for establishing new camps, and that some hotels and even nightclubs in Beirut have opened their doors to refugees. According to Lebanese officials, over 1.2 million citizens have been displaced in the past year, with at least 2,000 losing their lives. They emphasize that while these figures encompass all refugees and casualties over the past year, the majority pertains to the last two weeks. Meanwhile, on the same day, Israel heavily bombed the main road connecting Lebanon and Syria, rendering it largely unusable; however, some people are still attempting to walk to Syria via this route, according to UN officials. Statistics from this international body show that nearly 60% of the 185,000 who have reached Syria so far are children and adolescents, some of whom have entered the country without their parents. Matthew Luciano, head of the International Organization for Migration office in Lebanon, expressed concern over the chaotic situation in the country, the closure of roads, and the full capacity of camps, warning about the consequences for children's education as many schools have also turned into shelters. He also pointed out the alarming situation of another group of residents in Lebanon: foreign workers who have been employed in Lebanese households and are now left in limbo. Most of these workers, many of whom are women, typically lack valid identification and residency documents and therefore refrain from seeking assistance from aid agencies for fear of arrest and deportation. Many of these women come from countries like Sri Lanka and the Philippines and do not even speak Arabic. The ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including areas around Beirut, have also led to many pets being abandoned, hungry, and homeless, raising concerns about these animals resorting to eating corpses and spreading infectious diseases. Another issue is that Lebanese heading to Syria will not necessarily be safe there either, as the intensity and frequency of Israeli attacks on Syrian territory have increased in recent days and weeks. Rola Amin warns that Lebanese refugees fleeing bombardment arrive in Syria with deep physical and mental exhaustion and are in urgent need of various forms of support. All of this occurs while Israeli ground and aerial operations in Lebanon continue, with residents of more areas being urged to leave their homes; including residents of about 35 villages and towns in southern Lebanon, whom Israel has warned must relocate at least 60 kilometers north of the border, even further than the Litani River.