GENEVA/BEIRUT, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Almost 20,000 people have been internally displaced in south Lebanon and elsewhere since early October, a U.N. agency said on Monday, as violence escalates on the Lebanese-Israeli border following the eruption of the Gaza war.
The International Organization for Migration said 19,646 people had been displaced inside Lebanon since it began tracking movements on Oct. 8, the day after an assault on Israel by Hamas militants and an Israeli counteroffensive on Gaza.
It said the movements were mostly by those fleeing the south of Lebanon, while some people have also moved from other areas.
Many who have fled south Lebanon have moved north to the coastal city of Tyre, which is 18 km (11 miles) from the border.
"We cannot open all schools because schools are still operating, every school we open (for the displaced) we’re depriving its pupils from using it," she added.
Persons:
Lebanon's, Ezzeddine, Yolla Ali al Swaid, Ali al Swaid, Swaid, Emma Farge, Riham, Edmund Blair, Alison Williams
Organizations:
Lebanese, Organization for Migration, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
GENEVA, BEIRUT, Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, Tyre, Dhaira, Geneva, Beirut