Lebanon-Syria crossing: Israeli strike hits key road near border point

Mr Hollingworth stressed that it was essential for other routes leading out of Lebanon – particularly those in the north – to remain unhindered.

“We really would press that they remain open because they will be critical for people to leave, and also for humanitarian commodities to come in,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The Masnaa crossing in Lebanon’s east had been the main path for people to move into Syria, and then onto Jordan and the Gulf States, while in Lebanon the road had also connected west to the capital Beirut on the coast, which has been heavily bombed in recent days.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday said it had targeted a site at the border crossing where “weapons were transferred to Hezbollah”, and also a 3.5km underground tunnel between Lebanon and Syria, the location of which was not specified.

In a statement issued before the strike, the IDF said the crossing had become the “primary border crossing for Hezbollah’s weapons transfers” and accused the group of concealing “smuggling activity among civilian trucks and vehicles”. It called on Lebanon to thoroughly inspect trucks.

Many people moving east are Syrian nationals living in Lebanon, who have headed back to their own country to escape Israel’s bombardments.

The BBC spoke to one woman in Beirut, who had sent her son back to Syria this week because the capital was too dangerous.

“I found a lot of people from our neighbourhood heading for Syria, so I sent him with them,” she said.

Syria’s government said on Sunday that for the next week people crossing the border would no longer have to pay $100 to enter the country.