Lebanon is experiencing what could become its most severe displacement crisis, with up to one million people possibly fleeing as a result of intensified Israeli airstrikes, Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned on Sunday.
Mikati told reporters that “the number is very high and may reach one million,” which would represent nearly one-sixth of Lebanon’s population.
He described the situation as “the largest displacement movement that may have ever occurred in Lebanon.” The escalation in violence was triggered by Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, raising concerns about further destabilization in Lebanon and the region.
Since Monday, Israeli strikes have ramped up across Lebanon’s eastern and southern regions, including southern Beirut, causing hundreds of casualties and forcing many to flee.
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi reported earlier this week that over 200,000 people had been displaced internally, with more than 50,000 fleeing to Syria. This wave of strikes comes as Israel shifts its military focus from Gaza to Lebanon, after nearly a year of cross-border clashes with Hezbollah, which has aligned itself with Hamas.
