With lost livelihoods, destroyed homes and little security, many displaced Lebanese are faced with an entrenched reality.
Lebanon is
grappling with a catastrophic forced displacement crisis caused by ongoing
Israeli aggression, as the occupation seeks to entrench a new reality through
systematic destruction and the mass displacement of the population.
The Peak of Displacement
and Brutal Aggression
Intense Israeli
bombardment and aggression caused the forced displacement of over 1.2 million
Lebanese citizens at the height of the attacks.
Although the
number of displaced persons has dropped to approximately 330,000—according to
International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates—humanitarian agencies
emphasize that this decline is temporary; displacement patterns continue to
fluctuate due to the persistent threat of renewed Israeli airstrikes.
Figures and Scale
of Forced Displacement:
Peak: The number
of forcibly displaced persons reached over 1.2 million in April due to
continuous Israeli shelling and attacks.
Current Figures:
The total number of displaced persons has dropped to approximately 330,000,
according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
However, UN agencies emphasize that this decline is "neither permanent nor
sustainable" due to the resumption of military operations.
Temporary Return:
A relative lull in shelling in certain areas led to the return of approximately
810,000 people to their homes or nearby locations; they often found their homes
and local infrastructure completely destroyed.
Geographic
distribution of displaced persons (based on the latest data from the
International Organization for Migration):
Approximately 80%
of all displaced persons are concentrated in five key districts:
Beirut: Accounts
for about 31% of the displaced population.
Saida: Hosts 15%.
Tyre: Hosts 14%.
Chouf: Hosts 11%.
Aley: Hosts 9%.
Collective
shelters: Approximately 17,566 displaced persons are recorded as living in 184
collective shelters (a figure likely to rise as attacks on the South and
Nabatieh escalate).
Rentals: About
75% of displaced persons live in rented accommodation, placing them under
immense financial pressure as their savings are depleted and debts accumulate.
Occupation Crimes
and Tactics of Destruction
The Israeli
occupation army continues its incursion and forced occupation of more than 50
Lebanese villages, deliberately inflicting total destruction on infrastructure
and residential neighborhoods.
The Israeli
aggression has resulted in the deaths of over 4,380 people and the displacement
of hundreds of thousands from the South, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s
Southern Suburbs.
The Israeli war
machine has deliberately targeted displaced persons even in their places of
refuge, carrying out treacherous "double-tap" strikes that hit
civilians and temporary shelters.
Scorched-Earth
Policy and Local Resilience
The Israeli
occupation has imposed a closed military zone along the so-called "Yellow
Line," pursuing a scorched-earth policy by demolishing entire homes and
reducing border villages to rubble to prevent residents from returning.
Field reports
indicate the existence of entire villages that have been completely
destroyed—with not a single wall left standing—due to systematic Israeli
demolitions. * Despite the rubble of homes and widespread destruction,
residents insist on returning to and remaining in their areas, affirming their
attachment to their land and rejecting plans for displacement and the forced
imposition of a new military reality.
Escalating Humanitarian
and Economic Crisis
The majority of
displaced persons are concentrated in Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, Chouf, and Aley,
where families are grappling with the total depletion of savings and mounting
debt amidst the systematic disruption of livelihoods.
Continuous
Israeli bombardment of commercial and vital hubs—such as the city of
Nabatieh—has destroyed hundreds of shops and warehouses, paralyzing the local
economy and intensifying the psychological and economic pressures facing the
population.