BEIRUT, November 2 /TASS/. At least 469,000 people have left Lebanon since Israel launched its military operation against the Lebanon-based Shiite party Hezbollah, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Lebanon said.

In a statement, it noted that 25,000 Lebanese have arrived in Iraq, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

On September 23, Israel launched an offensive operation, called Northern Arrows, targeting Hezbollah military facilities and carrying out massive airstrikes over Lebanon. Overnight on October 1, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a ground operation in border areas in southern Lebanon.