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Lebanese displacement during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict

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Citizens and permanent residents of Lebanon have fled the nation or have been internally displaced since the escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah beginning in 2023, and especially during and following the September 2024 Lebanon strikes in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. As of 25 September 2024, nearly 500,000 people were reported by Lebanese officials to have been displaced due to the strikes.

Background

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Main articles: Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) and September 2024 Lebanon strikes

A day after Hamas launched its 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, Hezbollah joined the conflict, citing support for the Palestinians,[1][2] by firing on Shebaa Farms,[2] Safed, Nahariya,[3] and other Israeli military positions.[4] Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have been involved in cross-border military exchanges that have displaced entire communities in Israel and Lebanon, with significant damage to buildings and land along the border.

Beginning on 23 September 2024, Israel conducted about 1,500 attacks on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon,[5] in an operation codenamed Northern Arrows.[6] Targeted regions included southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley, and the suburbs of Beirut.[7][8] According to Lebanon's Health Ministry,[9] these Israeli strikes have killed at least 700 people—including 50 children, 94 women, and 4 medics—and injured at least 1,835.[10][11][12] The strikes were the deadliest attack in Lebanon since the end of the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War.[13]

Displacement

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2023

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As a result of Israeli bombardments from 7 October 2023 to prior to the 23 September 2024 strikes, over 111,000 civilians in Lebanon were displaced during the course of the renewed conflict.[14] A report from Amnesty International released on 16 October 2023 stated that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fired white phosphorus shells into Dhayra, hospitalizing nine civilians and setting fire to civilian homes, cars, and other belongings and thus forcing the displacement of civilians in the attack zones.[15][16]

Hezbollah stopped its military operations briefly after the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas put into effect on 24 November, which prompted the IDF to stop the shelling on targets in southern Lebanon.[17] As a result, many displaced civilians returned to their homes amid the calm.[18]

September 2024

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In addition to the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who had already been displaced since October 2023, 90,000 more were initially reported to have been displaced in the immediate aftermath of the 23 September strikes.[19] On that day, those fleeing south Lebanon were stuck in traffic as two-hour journeys turned into daylong journeys.[20] On 25 September, Lebanon's foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said that nearly 500,000 people were displaced due to the strikes.[21]

Internal displacement

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Thousands of displaced Lebanese citizens took refuge in Beirut, especially in the Hamra neighborhood. The rapid and sudden influx of refugees into the city resulted in significant numbers of hotels and shelters being filled to occupancy, localized shortages in food supplies, and an "enormous gridlock of traffic" coming from south of Beirut.[22] Many displaced persons in Beirut and Sidon slept in parks, in cars, and along the beach due to most displacement shelters being fully occupied.[23]

Syria

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that hundreds of civilian cars and buses attempting to escape Lebanon across the Lebanon–Syria border were stalled in queues extending for several kilometers. In addition, it reported that many Lebanese civilians in large crowds that included women, children, infants, and those injured from Israeli attacks, reached the Syrian border on foot while carrying whatever they could. Once reaching the border, many of the displaced had to wait hours in order to receive essential aid due to the significant volume of refugees, with many having to wait outside at night in cold temperatures. Commissioner Filippo Grandi stated that many of the newly displaced were families who part of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees displaced from the Syrian civil war into Lebanon, only to be forcefully displaced again due to the severe bombardments.[24][25]

Many of the Lebanese who reached Syria took shelter in rented houses and apartments, with some having paid rent well in advance in case of any sudden escalations. Many Lebanese escaped into Syria due to its proximity to the attacked Beqaa Valley, due to its crossing not requiring a visa for Lebanese citizens, and due to the relative cheapness of rent for property in Syria relative to in Lebanon.[25]

Many Syrian refugees in Lebanon who were displaced again by Israeli attacks were apprehensive of returning to Syria out of fears that they would be conscripted into the Syrian Army or arrested for real or accused actions in favor of opposition to President of Syria Bashar al-Assad. In response to this, Assad notified Syrian citizens that they would receive an amnesty for any possible infractions committed prior to 22 September 2024, which included those who dodged conscription.[25]

Responses

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In November 2023, the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund implemented its reserve allocation of up to four million USD in support for its partners to help aid Lebanese civilians who were displaced or were trapped in conflict zones.[26]

In response to the 23 September 2024 strikes, two hundred ninety schools were converted into shelters.[27] Due to the Lebanese government being ill-equipped to provide supplies or staff, many non-governmental organizations, political-party affiliated volunteers, and individual donors collaborated in attempting to meet the needs of the displaced.[19] The UNHCR stated that it would scale up support based on the growing amount of displaced people in need, and would work with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to provide food, water, essential supplies, and guidance to refugees at border crossings into Syria.[24] Dina Darwiche, a UNHCR staff member, was killed along with one of her children in an Israeli strike in Beqaa.[28][23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Violence escalates between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah amid Gaza assault". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  2. ^ a b "Hezbollah fires on Israel after several members killed in shelling". Al Jazeera. Al-Jazeera. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  3. ^ Bob, Yonah Jeremy; Laznik, Jacob (17 September 2024). "Pager detonations wound thousands, majority Hezbollah members, in suspected cyberattack". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  4. ^ Guerin, Orla (17 July 2024). "Smoke on the horizon: Israel-Hezbollah all-out war edges closer". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  5. ^ Marsi, Federica. "Israel hits Beirut as death toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon tops 550". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  6. ^ "'Northern Arrows': IDF announces the name of operation in Lebanon". The Jerusalem Post. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  7. ^ Reiss, Jonathan (23 September 2024). "Dozens of Israeli fighter jets have struck roughly 800 Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley since this morning, the Israeli military said in a statement". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Lebanon sees deadliest day of conflict since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill 492". AP News. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Live updates: Thousands flee homes in Lebanon as toll from Israeli strikes rises to 558, officials say". Washington Post. 24 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  10. ^ Marsi, Federica (24 September 2024). "Death toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon rises: Health Ministry". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024. The death toll from Israeli attacks across Lebanon since Monday has risen to 558, including 50 children and 94 women, according to Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad. He added that at least 1,835 people were wounded in Israeli air raids that hit Beirut and southern Lebanon.
  11. ^ "Israel strikes Beirut suburb as thousands flee southern Lebanon". France 24. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Middle East latest: Israel 'prepared' to invade Lebanon if necessary, IDF says". Sky News. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  13. ^ Najjar, Farah. "Israel's army chief touts 'possible' ground invasion of southern Lebanon". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  14. ^ "Lebanon: Flash Update #25 – Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 23 August 2024 – Lebanon". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 27 August 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  15. ^ Chehayeb, Kareem. "Amnesty International says Israeli forces wounded Lebanese civilians with white phosphorus". ABC News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Lebanon: Evidence of Israel's unlawful use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon as cross-border hostilities escalate". amnesty.org. Amnesty International. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Israeli and Hezbollah strikes near Lebanon border have stopped amid Israel-Hamas truce". France 24. 26 November 2023. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  18. ^ Taher, Aziz; Alwaaile, Hussein (30 November 2023). "People in southern Lebanon, rushing home amid truce, hope fighting is over". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Live Updates: Hezbollah Fires Missile at Tel Aviv in Show of Defiance". The New York Times. 2024-09-25. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  20. ^ Christou, William; Tondo, Lorenzo (23 September 2024). "Israeli strikes kill 492 in heaviest daily toll in Lebanon since 1975–90 civil war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Israel-Gaza war live: Nearly 500,000 Lebanese displaced after Israeli strikes". The National. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  22. ^ Salhani, Justin. "Coffee on the street in Hamra: Stories of Lebanese displacement". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  23. ^ a b "Families flee southern Lebanon as Israel bombards Hezbollah". PBS News. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  24. ^ a b "UNHCR scales up support as people flee Lebanon for Syria". UNHCR. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  25. ^ a b c "Thousands are pouring into Syria, fleeing worsening conflict in Lebanon". AP News. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  26. ^ "Lebanon: Flash Update #2 - Escalation of hostilities in south Lebanon, 25 November 2023 - Lebanon". ReliefWeb. 26 November 2023. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  27. ^ Marsi, Federica; Jamal, Urooba. "Israel calls up reservists as deadly Lebanon attacks displace over 90,000". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  28. ^ "UN refugee agency says staff among those killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
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