Some 160,000 people have crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria since fighting escalated in Lebanon last month, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Thursday.

The number of those crossing into Syria slowed on Wednesday after a steady stream of arrivals since Israel began launching air strikes inside Lebanon on Sept. 23, the UNHCR said in an updated report. UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh earlier told CNN that about 100,000 people had crossed the border. Of the thousands of people believed to have made the journey, about 70 percent - about 112,000 people - are Syrians. The rest are Lebanese citizens. The vast majority of people are leaving Lebanon in the east, heading for the Syrian capital Damascus.