Some 500 people have crossed from Lebanon to war-torn Syria, a Syrian security official told AFP Tuesday, fleeing the deadliest Israeli bombardment since Hezbollah and Israel fought a devastating war in 2006, AFP reports.

“Around 500 people crossed the border through the Qusayr and Dabousiya crossings between 4pm (1300 GMT) and midnight” Monday, the security official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“Vehicles were still crossing in the early hours of the morning, with people heading towards friends’ and acquaintances’ homes in the Homs countryside and in the city of Homs,” he said.

The crossing lies on the road to Damascus from Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold which was pounded by Israeli strikes on Monday.

Firas Makki, who fled from the Baalbek district, a Hezbollah stronghold, was among those seeking refuge over the border.

“There is no town in the Baalbek area that has not been targeted,” he said, adding his family was heading to a relative’s house in Damascus.

“Most of the men stayed behind, but we left with the women and children because they’re our priority and the children were very scared,” he said.