More Than 30 Thousand People Cross To Syria From Lebanon In 72 Hours

Residents in Lebanon crossed into Syria because of Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah/UnHCR/Vadim Makheev

JAKARTA - More than 30,000 people, mostly Syrians, crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours, the UN refugee agency said.

About 80 percent of the people crossing were Syrian citizens and about 20 percent were Lebanese, said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, a UNHCR representative in Syria.

About half of them are children and adolescents, and the number of men crossing is less than that of women.

They crossed from a warring country to a country that has faced a 13-year conflict crisis, Vargas Llosa said at a news conference in Geneva.

"We have to see in the next few days how many more are doing the same thing," he added.

He said UNHCR had teamed up with the Syrian government and its partners to increase acceptance and processing of those who came.

While Syria allows Lebanese citizens to enter for an undetermined time as long as they have letters showing their names.

Lebanon is home to about 1.5 million Syrians fleeing civil war in their own country.

Israel's foreign minister previously rejected global calls for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and continues to launch airstrikes that this week have raised fears of a regional war.

The conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah's fully armed forces is the worst in more than 18 years and is part of the regional impact of Gaza's war.