1.2 mln people in Lebanon displaced by Israeli airstrikes

BEIRUT -- The total number of displaced persons in Lebanon due to Israeli airstrikes has risen to nearly 1.2 million, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Council of Ministers.

According to the report, most displaced individuals have relocated to their homes in other areas, stayed with family, rented accommodations, or found shelter in public or private spaces, while thousands of others traveled by air or crossed into Syria.

From September 23 to September 29, the crossing of 234,023 Syrians and 76,269 Lebanese citizens into Syrian territory was recorded, it added.

The report notes that 867 centers have been established to receive displaced persons across Lebanon, with 643 of them reaching their maximum capacity.

Israel has recently intensified its airstrikes on Beirut and its suburbs to target Hezbollah officials and facilities while simultaneously managing to push into Lebanon in what it said was a "limited" ground military operation.

The Israeli airstrikes forced residents from southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs, to leave their homes in search of shelter in safer areas.

Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have sharply escalated after the latter announced a shift in military focus from the Gaza Strip to the northern front in mid-September.