GENEVA

The chief of the UN refugee agency confirmed Tuesday that two staffers were among the hundreds who have been killed in the latest Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon

"Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon are now relentlessly claiming hundreds of civilian lives. And I am very saddened to confirm that two UNHCR colleagues were also killed yesterday," Filippo Grandi wrote on X.

Grand extended condolences to their families, friends and colleagues on behalf of all at the UNHCR.

The Israeli army has launched waves of deadly airstrikes against Lebanon since early Monday, killing at least 558 people, including 95 women and 50 children, and injuring 1,835.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,400 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.​​​​​​​