Lebanon says 100,000 displaced by Israeli attacks since October

BEIRUT

Around 100,000 people have fled their homes in southern Lebanon due to Israeli attacks since last October, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Thursday.

Speaking during a Cabinet session in Beirut, Mikati said that around 313 people had been killed and 1,000 others injured since Oct. 8, 2023.

“Around 800 hectares (8 million square meters) of farmland were destroyed, 340,000 livestock killed and around 75% of farmers lost their source of income” he added.

“The government must declare the southern region an agricultural disaster zone,” he added.

Tensions have flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of weapons fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

The border tensions came amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, where more than 33,000 people have been killed following a Hamas attack last October.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala