Israel’s evacuation orders already affect a quarter of Lebanon, UNHCR denounces

MADRID 15 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The forced evacuation orders issued by the Israeli authorities already extend to a quarter of Lebanon, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which recalls that more than a million people have been forced to leave their homes. due to an escalation of attacks that is causing “devastating” effects for the Lebanese civilian population.

“Pushed by (evacuation) orders, many families are fleeing to open areas, desperate to escape the bombs while struggling to find shelter,” said UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa, Rema Jamous Imseis, on Tuesday. .

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered the population of around twenty towns in southern Lebanon to leave for other areas and this same report a military spokesman, Avichay Adraee, insisted that this is ” dangerous combat zones”, which is why he has asked the population not to return to avoid being victims of crossfire with the Hezbollah militia party.

Those fleeing southern Lebanon take refuge in other areas further north or even in neighboring countries such as Syria, where more than 283,000 people have already crossed, 70 percent of them Syrians. “Syrian refugees, who had previously sought safety in Lebanon (escaping the war), are fleeing again to save their lives,” said the UNHCR official.

Many of them, he added, “return to the places they fled years ago”, without even knowing what they will find upon their return or if they will have a minimal chance of moving forward. Various humanitarian agencies have joined forces to try to address the needs of these people in a country, Syria, in which “90 percent of the population already needs humanitarian aid.”