IOM: Prospects for mass displacement in Lebanon 'very alarming'

(Patria) - Head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope told AFP in Beirut that the prospects for long-term mass displacement in Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah are at war, are "very alarming".

- I think those prospects are very alarming because right now you are looking at the level of destruction that is happening and further destruction that is threatened - she said when asked about the possibility of long-term mass displacement.

- There are parts of the south that have been completely leveled. Even if the war ends tomorrow, that destruction remains and reconstruction is needed - she said, noting that reconstruction would require funding, resources, and peace.

- Unless we start to see those things happen, it means that people will now be displaced for who knows how long - she added.

Lebanese authorities claim that more than a million people have been displaced since the country was drawn into the Middle East war last month when Hezbollah, backed by Tehran, fired rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack in which Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed.

Israel responded with massive attacks across Lebanon and a ground invasion, forcing thousands of residents of southern Lebanon and the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate.

Authorities claim that more than 136,000 people are staying in collective shelters, including schools and stadiums, while some people are sleeping on the streets.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country's army would occupy part of southern Lebanon even after the war ends, and that the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese would be "completely prevented" until the security of northern Israel is ensured.