NNA - More than 19,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon amid an uptick in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at the country's southern border, figures released Monday by a United Nations agency showed.

"An increase in cross-border incidents" has resulted in the displacement of 19,646 people in Lebanon, "both within the south and elsewhere within the country", said the International Organization for Migration.

"We expect the numbers to rise as the cross-border tensions continue" or if there is an escalation in violence, IOM spokesperson Mohammedali Abunajela told AFP in a statement.

"The country's health system is facing severe resource shortages, including medicines" and medical personnel, Abunajela said.

"In this context, responding to large-scale displacement and health casualties that might occur... may overwhelm the already fragile health system," he warned.--AFP

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