UN refugee agency says 25% of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders

Israel, which began incursions into south Lebanon two weeks ago to battle Hezbollah, has issued military evacuation orders affecting more than a quarter of the country, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.

The figures underscore the heavy price Lebanese are paying as Israel steps up its campaign to defeat Hezbollah and destroy its infrastructure in their one-year conflict.

The U.N. refugee agency's Middle East Director Rema Jamous Imseis told a press briefing in Geneva that new Israeli evacuation orders to 20 villages in southern Lebanon meant that over a quarter of the country was now affected.

"People are heeding these calls to evacuate, and they're fleeing with almost nothing."


Reuters