Attachments
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
Lebanon’s southern border has become the scene of continuous conflict in the growing hostilities in the region. A dramatic escalation following the explosion of thousands of pagers in September this year has devastated the South of the country, Bekaa Valley, and Beirut suburbs, evoking memories of the 2006 conflict and the profound impact that it had. In October the number of attacks inside the country then rose by over 70 percent as hostilities in southern Lebanon and airstrikes significantly increased. Simultaneously, ground military operations impacted 32 towns and villages along the border, spanning districts from Tyre in the southwest to Marjayun and Hasbeiya in the southeast.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health now reports that as of 28 November 2024, over 3,961 people have been killed, including at least 266 children, and 16,520 people have been injured, with one-third of these deaths occurring in October alone. Many of the casualties include women and children, and civilian deaths and injuries continue to rise in general. Entire families have been forced to flee their homes with little time to gather belongings, leaving behind their livelihoods. An estimated 1.3 million people are reported to have been displaced, with over 562,000 estimated to have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of hostilities, 62 percent of them Syrians and 37 percent Lebanese nationals.
At 04:00 on 27 November of this year, an agreement took effect allowing over 800,000 people to return to their communities, and as of 5 December, 180,000 displaced people had left collective accommodation shelters. Thus far 1,000 collective shelters have closed following the ceasefire, with 28,184 individuals crossing into Lebanon from Syria. Nearly 3,346 Lebanese have also crossed into Syria, 1,266 from Lebanon and 2,080 from Iraq. Prior to the ceasefire, nearly half of all the displaced people had been living in host settings, in overcrowded conditions, and needed shelter, food and water.
Lebanon was already hosting an enormous number of displaced people even before the recent hostilities. There are over 1.5 million Syrian refugees in the country, only 790,000 of whom are registered, and more than 200,000 Palestinian refugees. In the past year, these groups have been particularly impacted due to the disruption of services and due to pre-existing socio-economic vulnerabilities. There are six Palestinian refugee camps located in the South governorate, with 36 percent of all Palestinians there living in the Saida district and 15 percent living in the Sour district. It is unknown exactly how many of these Palestinians in southern Lebanon have relocated to other camps due to the hostilities, but since the beginning of the ceasefire about 1,813 Syrians have crossed into Syria from Lebanon.
Lebanon also hosts at least 11,000 refugees from other countries as well as a large group of labor migrants, and the escalation of hostilities and internal displacement are leading to increased vulnerabilities for refugees and migrant workers. Reports indicate that migrant workers in Lebanon are left stranded, homeless, trapped, and unable to get to safety. These people are left without phones to communicate with their family or loved ones, as well as without clothes, money, and food, facing dire conditions.
Other crises have cumulatively affected Lebanon as well. The financial crisis of October 2019 led to a tripling in poverty rates among Lebanese citizens, increasing from 12 percent in 2012 to 44 percent in 2022. The local currency lost over 90 percent of its value, leading to skyrocketing inflation, widespread unemployment, and a decline in living standards. Prior to the conflict, key public services, including electricity, water, and waste management, were also significantly curtailed. Water quality and accessibility issues increased due to insufficient infrastructure investment. The COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port explosion both significantly worsened the country’s socio-economic situation and public services as well, including increasing unemployment, driving up the cost of essential goods, and straining the national healthcare system.