Lebanon says 13,500 Syrians left for Syria amid Israeli attacks

BEIRUT

Some 13,500 Syrians have left Lebanon for Syria since the start of Israeli airstrikes on Monday, the Lebanese interior minister said on Thursday.

"There are 13,500 Syrians who left Lebanon to return to Syria," Bassam Mawlawi told a press conference in Beirut.

Lebanon hosts 1.8 million Syrian refugees, about 900,000 of whom are registered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Mawlawi said around 70,100 people have taken refuge in 533 shelters in Lebanon due to the ongoing Israeli attacks.​​​​​​​

“There are shelters also in the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon designated for Syrians,” he added.

Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing at least 640 people and injuring over 2,500 others, according to figures released by the Health Ministry.

The US, EU, and nine other nations called on Israel and Hezbollah late Wednesday to agree to a 21-day cease-fire amid an escalation in their cross-border warfare.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, denied media reports that he agreed to the proposed cease-fire, saying that he ordered his army to keep striking Lebanon with full force.

The premier also said that the Israeli war in Gaza will continue “until all goals of the war are achieved.”

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border clashes since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar