The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Amman sent a batch of urgent relief supplies to Lebanon on Monday, local newspaper Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.

Thirty trucks carrying 512 tons of emergency relief to be distributed to 20,000 displaced Lebanese people set off from Jordan on Monday, said the UN agency in a statement cited by Jordan Times.

The aid supplies include 5,000 tents, 20,000 mattresses, 20,000 blankets, 5,000 sets of kitchen utensils, 5,000 plastic sheets, 5, 000 collapsible jerry cans and 5,000 stoves, according to the statement.

In addition, the statement said that three UNHCR convoys arrived in Beirut on Saturday and were currently distributing aid to displaced families in overcrowded communal shelters.

"UNHCR has been making use of its huge stockpile in the region to respond to the urgent needs in war-stricken Lebanon," it said.

According to figures released by the Lebanese government's Higher Relief Committee, an estimated 700,000-800,000 people have been displaced by the conflict and some 106,700 displaced people are currently sheltering in 652 schools throughout Lebanon.

Violence in Lebanon erupted on July 12 when the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during cross-border raids and Israel responded by waging a massive assault.

Over 550 Lebanese and 51 Israelis have been killed in the 21 days of the conflict.

Israel announced in the early hours of Monday a 48-hour partial halt to aerial bombardments on southern Lebanon and a 24-hour safe passage for aid agencies to send in relief and the Lebanese people to flee.

Source: Xinhua