UN refugee agency chief visits Syria-Lebanon border

Damascus, Oct 8 (IANS) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi visited the Jdeidet Yabous crossing on the border between Syria and Lebanon.

"I'm at the Syrian/Lebanese border, where a quarter of a million people have crossed since September 23, when Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon escalated," Grandi said on Monday on the social media platform X, adding that more than 1.2 million people have currently been displaced in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Syria's state news agency SANA.

He noted that local authorities, the Syrian Red Crescent, the United Nations, and other partners "are working 24/7 with UNHCR to ensure a humane and efficient welcome" for those arriving in Syria.Grandi also mentioned that he has appealed for $324 million "to meet the needs of all people fleeing from Lebanon to Syria and the families hosting many of them."

"This crisis occurs when millions of Syrians live in hardship. Humanitarian and early recovery aid are urgently needed," he added.Earlier on Monday, Syria's Al-Watan Online newspaper quoted the country's Directorate of Immigration and Passports as saying that 91,000 Lebanese and 239,000 Syrians have arrived in Syria from Lebanon since September 23, when the Israeli army began conducting intensive attacks on Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah.