Israel’s escalated aerial bombardment of Lebanon has driven over half a million people to cross the border into Syria, overwhelming already strained resources.
Among the arrivals, an estimated 7,000 are pregnant, with about 800 expected to give birth within the next month, Muriel Mafico, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Syria, told The Associated Press.
“The majority of the people who arrived in Syria are women and children,” she said. “Once again, it is women and children who are paying a heavy price.”
Mafico said the UNFPA, along with its international and local partners, is providing services at the border as well as following up on those women who are ending up in shelters or staying with relatives in Syria.
But, she said, "the response so far is less than adequate due to the constraints on resources that we have.”
The Lebanese General Security recorded 361,300 Syrians and 177,864 Lebanese crossing into Syria between Sept. 23 and Nov. 1, according to a report by Lebanon’s crisis response unit.
