Feature: Lebanese flee to Syria amid escalating Hezbollah-Israel conflict

BEIRUT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — Hasnaa Abu Ali, a 50-year-old woman from the southern Lebanese town of Rihaniya, looked exhausted and sad as she held her three children, waiting at the Masnaa border crossing to enter Syria and escape the escalating Hezbollah-Israeli war in Lebanon.
“We are tired of waiting in this square from 7 a.m. until this afternoon,” Hasnaa told Xinhua. “Movement at the crossing is slow, exhausting, and annoying, and the sounds of military vehicles, bus horns, and crying children make it even more draining,” she added.
What is worse for Hasnaa is the lack of support for the displaced.
“The displaced people are extremely exhausted, and the children are tired and hungry. Some of them sleep in their mothers’ arms or on the roadside. Many families lack water and a loaf of bread, and they are worried about their journey into the unknown,” she complained.
The spacious square at the western end of the Masnaa border crossing, which connects Lebanon to Syria, has turned into a temporary gathering point for displaced Lebanese and Syrians fleeing the war.
In and around the square, hundreds of displaced people gather and wait for a long time to complete routine crossing procedures on both sides of the border.
Due to the rapid progression of the conflict, many people left their homes in a hurry, with some only taking a few essential items along with limited food and supplies.
Hala Saab, a 20-year-old girl from a village in Marjeyoun of southern Lebanon, expressed her concern about the distant and unknown journey of displacement.
“I was forced to go to Syria as I could not find a shelter for my disabled parents and me, not to mention our difficult financial situation,” she said.
Dalal Amer, a woman in her twenties who gave up her job at a clothing store in the downtown of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, said, “We spent difficult times in this war, and now we are on our way to Syria on a harsh journey, made more complicated by the interruption in the mobile phone network, which deprives us of communicating with our relatives and loved ones.”
For those fleeing to Syria, who may face significant challenges in securing housing and necessities such as food and medicine, “their primary concern remains escaping the shells of the spiteful Israeli enemy,” said Hassan Qabalan, a man in his 50s whose store in Mays al Jabal village was destroyed in an Israeli raid.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Saturday via social media platform X that more than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon to Syria since the escalation of the Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon.
Statistics from the Lebanese General Security Center at the Masnaa crossing showed that over 1,000 individuals cross into Syria daily. This figure includes displaced Lebanese and Syrians who previously sought refuge in Lebanon to escape the Syrian civil war.
A source from the Lebanese General Security said that the actual number of displaced individuals fleeing from Lebanon to Syria could be even greater, as many are using illegal crossing points.
Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has intensified its attacks against Hezbollah across Lebanon, forcing residents in many areas to leave their homes.
The Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Council of Ministers said in a report on Wednesday that the total number of displaced persons due to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to nearly 1.2 million. ■