CrossFireArabia
Over than 18,000 Lebanese have entered Iraq since the start of Israeli airstrikes on the country since late September, Iraqi authorities stated, Sunday.
“Efforts are underway to receive Iraq’s guests from Lebanese citizens in batches,” Alaa al-Din al-Qaisi, a spokesman for Iraq’s Border Ports Authority, said in statements carried by the official news agency INA.
News about the influx of Lebanese citizens is making headways on the social media with whole families being forced out of the country due to the high intensity of fighting on the areas at the rim of southern and southwestern Lebanon.
Al-Qaisi said the influx follows orders from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to allow visa-free entry on Lebanese citizens, pointing out that over 18,000 Lebanese nationals arrived in Iraq since 27 September.
A massive Israeli air campaign in Lebanon has been ongoing since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, an escalation in year-long cross-border warfare since the start of the Gaza war.
More than 3,100 people have been killed and over 13,800 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities according to the Anadolu news agency.
