Number of displaced people nears 1.9 mln in Lebanon

BEIRUT

The number of displaced people in Lebanon due to Israel-Hezbollah conflict has surged to nearly 1.9 million since last October, shows a report by the Lebanon's Council of Ministers.

Since Sept. 23, when Israel escalated its attacks, a total of 624,898 individuals—over 390,000 of Syrian origin—have crossed from Lebanon into Syrian territory in search of refuge, the report said.

Moreover, the Israeli military has launched approximately 13,976 airstrikes on Lebanese soil since Oct. 8, 2023, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, it added.

Israel has expanded the focus of its war from Gaza to Lebanon, with airstrike over the weekend killing more than 55 people, many of them in central Beirut.

The attack in the capital was followed by others in the city's southern suburbs after calls by the Israeli military to evacuate.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that Washington was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, in a call with his Israeli counterpart.

A spokesman for Israel Katz said the defense minister underscored that Israel would "continue to act decisively in response to Hezbollah's attacks on civilian populations in Israel.”

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon and Israel this week, meeting with both countries' senior officials, to try to negotiate an end to the war.

Meanwhile, Israel condemned the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in the United Arab Emirates, calling it anti-Semitic "terrorism" and vowing to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The body of Tzvi Kogan, who had been missing since Nov. 21, was found by security services in the Gulf Arab state, the Prime minister's office and the Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement.

"The murder of Tzvi Kogan, of blessed memory, is a heinous act of antisemitic terrorism," it said, adding Israel would do everything in its power "to ensure that justice is served and that those responsible for his death are held accountable."