Website: Lebanon and Cyprus emergencies 2006

Raids by Lebanon-based Hezbollah on Israel, resulting in the killing of eight Israeli soldiers and the capture of another two has provoked Israeli military intervention in Lebanon. Israel is carrying out a heavy bombing campaign as well as a number of land incursions. With casualties on both sides, Lebanon has incurred extensive infrastructural and environmental damage. The latter also includes a sizable oil spill along the Lebanese coast. Even more tragic is the number of civilian casualties. Due to this, foreigners have fled Lebanon in their thousands, seeking repatriation through various routes, namely Cyprus, Syria and Jordan.