Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East conflict in early March when Israeli-US strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and Tehran-backed Hezbollah responded by firing rockets at Israel.
Since then, Israel has struck targets across Lebanon and sent ground troops into its neighbor’s territory. Lebanese authorities say more than 1,200 people have been killed.
“Nearly a month after hostilities intensified in Lebanon, Syria has seen a sharp rise in people crossing the border from Lebanon,” Aseer Al-Madaien, UNHCR’s interim representative in Syria, told a press conference by video link from Damascus.
Between March 2 and 27, “more than 200,000 people entered Syria through the three official crossing points,” she said.
“The vast majority — nearly 180,000 — are Syrians, including Syrian refugees who had fled Syria seeking safety in the past in Lebanon and (are) now forced to flee again,” she added.
“More than 28,000 Lebanese have also crossed into Syria,” she told reporters in Geneva.
The figures were provided by the Syrian authorities and confirmed by UNCHR officials on the ground, she said.