Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said, “As many as 1 million people across the country may have already been forced to leave their homes due to Israel’s continued airstrikes.”
“This is the biggest displacement event,” Najib Mikati said.
According to information from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, two days after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, 50 people were killed in an airstrike on Sunday. On the other hand, Hezbollah also fired more rockets targeting the northern region of Israel.
Israel, on the other hand, said it had carried out “major” airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed Houthi military installations in Yemen.
Hezbollah confirmed on Sunday that its top military commander, Ali Qaraki, and a senior religious leader, Sheikh Nabil Kouk, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel’s military chief of staff, Harji Halevi, said, “We need to hit Hezbollah hard.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the airstrikes are forcing people to flee their homes in Beirut and other parts of the country, including the southern border areas.
The BBC’s correspondent from Lebanon said local authorities are struggling to provide support according to people’s needs. Pressure is mounting on shelter camps and hospitals.
Aya Ayoub, 25, told the BBC that she and her family of six had to leave their home in the southern Beirut suburb of Tahweitet al Ghadi because it had become dangerous to stay there. All the buildings around his house were destroyed and he is now staying in another house in Beirut with 16 others. We left on Friday and had nowhere to go. I was on the road till 2 am. A group of people then assisted us to a residential building under construction. Having to live with candles at night. Food and water have to be brought from outside.’
34-year-old Sara Tohmaz is a journalist by profession. He told the BBC he was forced to leave his home near Beirut with his mother and two brothers last Friday.
He said it took them 10 hours to come to Jordan via Syria by car.
“I think we are lucky that we have a place to stay in Jordan,” he said. There are relatives on mother’s side. We don’t know what will happen next and we don’t know when we can come back.’
Earlier on October 8, 2023, cross-border fighting escalated. After Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, Hezbollah, in support of the Palestinians, fired rockets at Israel.
Since then, hundreds of people have died, including Hezbollah fighters, and millions have been displaced on both sides.
On Sunday, Israel said it had carried out airstrikes targeting Houthi military installations in Yemen. There were attacks on the power plant and the ports of Ras Isa and Hudaydah.
The footage shows a major explosion at the port.
Israel says it launched the attack in response to a recent missile attack by the Houthis.
The Shia group the Houthis control large parts of Yemen. They strongly condemned the Israeli attack, terming it a ‘brutal aggression’.
They vowed to avenge the attack, which claimed four lives and injured 33 others.
All in all, many people fear a larger conflict in the Middle East.
Washington warned Israel against an all-out war against Hezbollah or Iran, saying a major conflict would make it impossible for people displaced in Israel’s north to return home.