Violent Clashes at the Border Force 76,000 to Flee Their Homes in Lebanon

The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration reports that over three months of near-daily hostilities along the Israel-Lebanon border have led to the displacement of more than 76,000 people in Lebanon.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in early October, the border region has experienced an upsurge in violence. The latest reports indicate continuous fire exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah as of Friday.

According to the IOM’s recent publication, the intensified conflict has forced 76,018 individuals to leave their homes, predominantly in the southern areas of Lebanon close to the Israeli border.

The report details that over 80 percent of these displaced Lebanese citizens are seeking refuge with family members. In contrast, only 2 percent are accommodated in 14 collective shelters, mainly located in Tyre and the Hasbaya region in southern Lebanon.

Others have opted to rent apartments or relocate to residences further from the border, as per the U.N. agency’s findings.

The cross-border conflict has resulted in 175 fatalities in Lebanon, including 129 Hezbollah militants and over 20 civilians, with three journalists among the deceased, based on an AFP tally.

In northern Israel, the conflict has claimed the lives of nine soldiers and five civilians, according to Israeli sources.

Hezbollah, engaged in daily operations against Israeli forces along the border, states its actions are in support of Hamas in Gaza.

Tensions escalated further following a strike on Tuesday that killed Hamas’s deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, in a Hezbollah-dominated area of south Beirut.

Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has declared that the assassination, largely attributed to Israel, “will not go unpunished.”