More than 200,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria since fighting resumed a month ago between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, the United Nations' refugee agency said on Tuesday (March 31, 2026).
Lebanon was pulled into the West Asia conflict in early March when Israeli-U.S. strikes killed Iran's supreme leader and Tehran-backed Hezbollah responded by firing rockets at Israel.
Israeli PM says ordered military to ‘further expand’ security zone in Lebanon
Since then, Israel has struck targets across Lebanon and sent ground troops into its neighbour'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.
