02:11Residents of southern Lebanon were seen taking refuge in schools which had been converted into shelters, as ongoing Israeli strikes have forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Footage filmed on Tuesday shows displaced people taking shelter in a school in the city of Sidon, as the Disaster Management Unit worked to accommodate the refugees.
One member of the Disaster Management Unit, Wafaa Chouaib, explained that over 3,500 people from the southern regions of the country had already been placed into refugee centres in the city.
"We have opened fourteen centres, thirteen of which are already full with no space left. We are preparing to open more centres to accommodate the growing number of displaced," Chouaib said, noting that the total number that had arrived in the city was unclear, as many were also staying with relatives.
"We cannot count them. We need bedding, essential supplies and water. We are somewhat able to provide food, but we also need assistance with that," he explained.
One of those displaced, Ibrahim, explained why he had fled from the town of Al-Shahabiya in Sidon governate to the shelter in the city.
"I tried to spend last night there, but I couldn’t because Israel is aggressive and its missiles hit hard. That’s why I left for Sidon, and they welcomed us with open arms," he said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced on Monday the launch of a broader military operation dubbed 'Operation Northern Arrows' in which it conducted extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, warning civilians to evacuate settlements in southern regions and the Bekaa Valley. It followed a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘change the balance of power in the north’.
Local media reported that settlements in the districts of Tyre, Sidon, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Hasbaya, Jezzine, Western Bekaa, and the Beqaa Governorate had been subjected to Israeli strikes since Monday morning.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese Minister of Health, Firass Abiad updated its death toll for Israel’s latest operation to 558, adding that 1,835 people had been injured.
The strikes have caused tens of thousands of residents in affected areas to flee towards the capital Beirut and the country’s border with Syria.
The conflict escalated over the past week following the mass explosions of pagers and handheld radios used by Hezbollah and an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut which killed the group’s senior commander Ibrahim Aqil, along with 60 others. Hezbollah has since launched hundreds of rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli army has been exchanging cross-border shelling with Hezbollah, Lebanese and Palestinian factions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023.
'We need bedding, essential supplies and water' - Schools converted into shelters as thousands flee southern Lebanon amid Israeli strikes
Residents of southern Lebanon were seen taking refuge in schools which had been converted into shelters, as ongoing Israeli strikes have forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Footage filmed on Tuesday shows displaced people taking shelter in a school in the city of Sidon, as the Disaster Management Unit worked to accommodate the refugees.
One member of the Disaster Management Unit, Wafaa Chouaib, explained that over 3,500 people from the southern regions of the country had already been placed into refugee centres in the city.
"We have opened fourteen centres, thirteen of which are already full with no space left. We are preparing to open more centres to accommodate the growing number of displaced," Chouaib said, noting that the total number that had arrived in the city was unclear, as many were also staying with relatives.
"We cannot count them. We need bedding, essential supplies and water. We are somewhat able to provide food, but we also need assistance with that," he explained.
One of those displaced, Ibrahim, explained why he had fled from the town of Al-Shahabiya in Sidon governate to the shelter in the city.
"I tried to spend last night there, but I couldn’t because Israel is aggressive and its missiles hit hard. That’s why I left for Sidon, and they welcomed us with open arms," he said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced on Monday the launch of a broader military operation dubbed 'Operation Northern Arrows' in which it conducted extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, warning civilians to evacuate settlements in southern regions and the Bekaa Valley. It followed a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘change the balance of power in the north’.
Local media reported that settlements in the districts of Tyre, Sidon, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Hasbaya, Jezzine, Western Bekaa, and the Beqaa Governorate had been subjected to Israeli strikes since Monday morning.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese Minister of Health, Firass Abiad updated its death toll for Israel’s latest operation to 558, adding that 1,835 people had been injured.
The strikes have caused tens of thousands of residents in affected areas to flee towards the capital Beirut and the country’s border with Syria.
The conflict escalated over the past week following the mass explosions of pagers and handheld radios used by Hezbollah and an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut which killed the group’s senior commander Ibrahim Aqil, along with 60 others. Hezbollah has since launched hundreds of rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli army has been exchanging cross-border shelling with Hezbollah, Lebanese and Palestinian factions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023.
Residents of southern Lebanon were seen taking refuge in schools which had been converted into shelters, as ongoing Israeli strikes have forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Footage filmed on Tuesday shows displaced people taking shelter in a school in the city of Sidon, as the Disaster Management Unit worked to accommodate the refugees.
One member of the Disaster Management Unit, Wafaa Chouaib, explained that over 3,500 people from the southern regions of the country had already been placed into refugee centres in the city.
"We have opened fourteen centres, thirteen of which are already full with no space left. We are preparing to open more centres to accommodate the growing number of displaced," Chouaib said, noting that the total number that had arrived in the city was unclear, as many were also staying with relatives.
"We cannot count them. We need bedding, essential supplies and water. We are somewhat able to provide food, but we also need assistance with that," he explained.
One of those displaced, Ibrahim, explained why he had fled from the town of Al-Shahabiya in Sidon governate to the shelter in the city.
"I tried to spend last night there, but I couldn’t because Israel is aggressive and its missiles hit hard. That’s why I left for Sidon, and they welcomed us with open arms," he said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced on Monday the launch of a broader military operation dubbed 'Operation Northern Arrows' in which it conducted extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, warning civilians to evacuate settlements in southern regions and the Bekaa Valley. It followed a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘change the balance of power in the north’.
Local media reported that settlements in the districts of Tyre, Sidon, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Hasbaya, Jezzine, Western Bekaa, and the Beqaa Governorate had been subjected to Israeli strikes since Monday morning.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese Minister of Health, Firass Abiad updated its death toll for Israel’s latest operation to 558, adding that 1,835 people had been injured.
The strikes have caused tens of thousands of residents in affected areas to flee towards the capital Beirut and the country’s border with Syria.
The conflict escalated over the past week following the mass explosions of pagers and handheld radios used by Hezbollah and an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut which killed the group’s senior commander Ibrahim Aqil, along with 60 others. Hezbollah has since launched hundreds of rockets into northern Israel.
The Israeli army has been exchanging cross-border shelling with Hezbollah, Lebanese and Palestinian factions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023.