ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 550 Lebanese civilians fleeing repeated Israeli attacks have arrived in Iraq over the past two days, an Iraqi migration ministry official said on Wednesday.
“In just two days, 350 Lebanese citizens have entered Iraq through the Qaim border crossing in Anbar province and have been received by the Ministry of Migration and Displacement,” Ali Abbas, spokesperson for the Iraqi ministry, told Rudaw.
The Lebanese refugees entered Iraq via land from Syria, Abbas said.
The Qaim crossing connects Iraq’s Anbar province with Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province.
Other refugees fleeing the recent violence in Lebanon arrived in Iraq through the Najaf and Baghdad airports, Abbas added, noting that 200 people came through Najaf.
“We are monitoring the situation, and if we learn that more Lebanese citizens are arriving in Iraq, we will take the necessary additional measures to receive and settle them,” Abbas said.
There were no comprehensive figures from Baghdad on the total number of new Lebanese refugees in Iraq, who have been displaced from Lebanon amid continued Israeli attacks.
Since Israel’s attacks on Lebanon began - and after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah - Iraq has opened its doors to people from Lebanon.
Hundreds of Israeli strikes in Lebanon on September 23 killed 356 people and injured 1,246, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
On the same day, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani announced plans to establish air and land routes to deliver aid, including fuel for hospitals, to Lebanon, and to receive the injured in Iraqi hospitals.
On Saturday, Sudani ordered Iraq’s interior ministry to issue expedited travel documents for Lebanese citizens without a passport who wish to enter Iraq.
Since Israel’s attacks began, an estimated 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said at a press conference on September 24, adding the country is experiencing the "largest wave of displacement in its history."
Lebanon has been hosting 1.5 million Syrian refugees since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in addition to 13,715 refugees of other nationalities.
The UN on Monday, citing Lebanese officials, reported more than 1,600 people have been killed and 8,000 wounded in Lebanon by Israeli bombardments since October 2023.
The conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, backed by Iran, and Israel has intensified since October 7, when Palestinian Hamas militants launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures.
Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive on Gaza, killing over 41,600 people and injuring more than 96,400, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
On Monday, Israel launched border operations against Lebanese Hezbollah targets. US and other officials have cautioned against a large ground invasion of Lebanon by the Israeli army.
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