twelve dead in Israeli strikes on villages above Beirut sheltering displaced people

For the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, more than a million Lebanese and refugees in Lebanon are trapped under Israeli bombardments: some are forced to move and others, who would like to, are not able to leave. Since Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah entered into open war on September 23, more than a million people have been thrown onto the roads in Lebanon, or have left it, more than a sixth of the population.

“There is a humanitarian challenge created by displacement and another challenge due to the impossibility of moving”by Filippo Grandi. “There are still 6,000 Syrian refugees in the south, who could not leave because the situation was not safe and now they do not know where to go and it is too late”developed Ivo Friesen, head of the UNHCR in Lebanon.

Other Syrian refugees, driven from their country by the war, are now heading in the opposite direction, fleeing a new conflict. “We estimate, and the figures are surely higher, that 220,000 people crossed the border between Lebanon and Syria, including 70% Syrians and 30% Lebanese”reported Mr. Grandi.

But on Friday, an Israeli airstrike cut the main road between Lebanon and Syria, used in recent days by crowds of displaced people. “Bombarding this road, effectively blocking many people who were seeking shelter in Syria, is another example” obstacles that stand before the displaced, he continued.

Mr. Grandi further announced that he would go on Monday to the Syrian side of the border and then to Damascus to discuss with the authorities the fate reserved for Syrian refugees returning to the country. He intends to plead so that they “show (…) that they respect these people, their safety and ability to return home or go where they need to go”he said, while many Syrian refugees fear mistreatment upon their return.