Lebanon says over 400,000 people fled to Syria in around 2 weeks

Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria, wait outside Ministry of Interior Immigration and Passports Department, at the Syrian-Lebanese border on October 7, 2024. (Reuters)

• More than 300,000 of those who escaped from September 23 to Saturday were Syrians returning to their war-torn country

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s government said Monday that more than 400,000 people had fled an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah across the border into Syria in less than two weeks.
More than 300,000 of those who escaped from September 23 to Saturday were Syrians returning to their war-torn country, while more than 102,000 were Lebanese, a governmental crisis unit said.
Lebanese state media said on Monday evening that two new strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, after Israel’s military issued a warning to inhabitants of the area.
An AFP correspondent saw smoke rise from the suburbs, and the country’s National News Agency reported that the area was “the target of two raids.”