Portugal Colonial - Lebanon minister says Israel strike puts second Syria crossing out of service

"The Qaa crossing has been put out of service after an Israeli strike on Syrian territory," Ali Hamieh told AFP, adding that the strike blocked the passage of vehicles.

On October 4, Israel hit near the Masnaa crossing, the main international passage between Lebanon and Syria, leaving a crater on the road and putting the crossing out of order. Human Rights Watch said the strikes prevented civilians from fleeing and hampered aid operations.

Israel said the air raids were aimed at preventing the flow of weapons into Lebanon to Hezbollah from neighbouring Syria, and included targeting an alleged underground tunnel used to move arms from Iran.

The crossing has been repeatedly struck since then, leaving authorities unable to repair the damage.

An Israeli air strike hit the Syrian side of the Qaa crossing, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) northeast of Masnaa, on September 26.

Despite crossing damage, many people are still fleeing to Syria on foot.

Official figures show nearly 500,000 people, mainly Syrians, have fled to Syria after Israel launched an intense air campaign mainly on Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon in late September.

The escalation followed almost a year of limited cross-border clashes with Hezbollah which said it was acting in support of Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza war.

Since then, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 1,580 people, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.

The war has displaced upwards of one million people, according to Lebanese officials.

G.Machado--PC