Lebanon: Flash Update #58 - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 06 February 2025

This report is produced by OCHA Lebanon in collaboration with humanitarian partners and the Inter Sector Coordination Group. It covers the period from 31 January - 06 February 2025.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Military activity continued in southern and eastern Lebanon, with ongoing insecurity impacting civilians, hindering humanitarian access and complicating return and recovery.
• 54 civilians killed since the cessation of hostilities on 27 December 2024 (source: OHCHR).
• 890,830 people displaced within Lebanon back in their cadaster of origin while 98,986 people remain displaced outside their cadaster of origin as of 5 February (source: IOM).
• Uptick in new arrivals from Syria reported, bringing total to 94,000 (source: DRM/UNHCR).

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Lebanon continues to experience ongoing insecurity due to military activity, particularly in Southern Lebanon, but also in other parts of the country, exacerbating protection concerns, limiting humanitarian access, and hindering relief and recovery efforts. During the reporting period, the Israeli Army conducted airstrikes, demolitions, and artillery attacks, affecting civilian areas, housing and public infrastructure across Lebanon. While maintaining restrictions on the return of civilians to some villages in southern Lebanon, the Israeli Army reportedly destroyed dozens of houses in Yaroun, Aitaroun, Aadaisse, Mays Al-Jabael, Kfarkila, Rabb Et-Talatine, Al Wazzani, and Houla (Nabatieh Governorate) between 29 January and 5 February. The Israeli Army was also reported to have bulldozed trees and agricultural land in Houla and destroyed a sewage treatment plant in the Marjaayoun plains (Nabatieh Governorate).

On 31 January, an airstrike in Janta (Bekaa governorate) – a crossing point between Lebanon and Syria – resulted in two fatalities and 10 people injured, according to the Minister of Public Health (MoPH). On the same day, an informal crossing point into Wadi Khaled (Akkar Governorate) was reportedly targeted on the Syrian side and airstrikes occurred in Khardali (Jezzine district, South governorate). A new wave of airstrikes on areas in Lebanon north of the Litani River was also reported on the morning of 7 February, including Tebna, Zefta, Roumine, Aazze, and Houmin el-Fawka (Nabatieh governorate) and Khraibe, Nabi Chit and Jenta (Bekaa governorate).

Armed clashes on the Lebanon-Syria border in Hermel district, as well as artillery shelling from Syria into Lebanon occurred on 6-7 February, with shells and rockets striking Qasr (Bekaa governorate) and Akroum (Akkar governorate). The escalation of hostilities in the area was linked to a Syrian military operation against suspected weapons smuggling. An unconfirmed number of casualties occurred, and two members of the Syrian forces were reportedly detained by Lebanese groups.

As of 5 February, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had documented at least 54 conflict-related civilian fatalities (including nine women and six children) since the cessation of hostilities began on 27 November 2024. Two civilian fatalities were documented between 29 January and 5 February. A health worker was injured when the ambulance in which he was travelling as part of efforts to evacuate wounded people came under fire from Israeli forces on 26 January, bringing to 161 the total number of attacks on health care since 8 October 2023, according to the surveillance system for attacks on health care (SSA). In another incident, stun grenades were reportedly used against search and rescue teams conducting recovery operations in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district, Nabatieh governorate) on 4 February.

As of 5 February, 98,986 people (52 per cent women and 48 per cent men) remained displaced outside their cadasters of origin according to IOM’s Mobility Snapshot (Round 75), a 4 percent decrease since 29 January. Some 92 per cent of those remaining displaced come from just five districts, with 45 per cent from Bint Jbeil district, 19 per cent from Sour, 11 per cent from Marjaayoun, 10 per cent from Nabatieh, and 7 per cent from Baabda (primarily Beirut’s southern suburbs).Of the displaced, 2,367 people remain in collective shelters, with 11 shelters in Beirut and Mount Lebanon hosting some 300 displaced families in six shelters in South Governorate. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) remaining in collective shelters are mostly from southern Lebanon and unable to return home due to safety concerns or the destruction of their homes. They face severe psychological stress, particularly due to the loss of their homes and family networks.

Meanwhile, 890,830 people have returned to the cadasters from which they were displaced, of which 28 per cent to Nabatieh district, 21 per cent to Sour, 17 per cent to Saida, 17 per cent to Baalbek and 6 per cent to Bint Jbeil. Civilian returns continue despite the extension of the cessation of hostilities until 18 February, including to areas for which the Israeli forces previously announced restrictions. On 2 February, a second “Sunday of Returns” to areas where the Israeli Army remains present was organized with a third expected to be held on 9 Sunday.

The Lebanon Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Unit reported an increase in the number of new arrivals from Syria over the past week, with the total now reaching 94,140, up 5 per cent from the previous week, according to UNHCR. The number includes about 20,000 Lebanese who fled to Syria during the hostilities, as well as Syrian refugees in Lebanon who crossed into Syria during the conflict and have subsequently returned to Lebanon as well as some 36,000 new arrivals who entered Lebanon in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. The recent rise in arrivals is primarily attributed to persistent tensions in the Homs area, particularly in villages inhabited by minority groups.

FAO's latest analysis indicates that Lebanon’s winter cereal production is expected to be 34 per cent lower than the five-year average. Drought conditions in spring 2024, along with restricted access to farmland due to the escalation of the conflict, contributed to a decline in crop yields. As a result, Lebanon’s wheat imports are expected to have increased by about 4 per cent between July 2024 and June 2025. The decrease in local food production, combined with disruptions to the Lebanese economy and hyperinflation in food prices in recent years, has worsened household purchasing power. The monthly cost of the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) surged by 17 per cent in December 2024, as compared to December 2023, reaching LBP 40.6 million ($449) for a family of five. The conflict escalation in September 2024, alongside infrastructure damage and displacement, further compounded food insecurity for both Lebanese citizens and refugees in the country.

UN-Habitat, the University of Balamand, and the Centre for Environmental Research of the Eastern Mediterranean (CREEMO) at Saint Joseph University, updated the results of their remote survey of building damage and debris caused between September 2023 and December 2024 for South and Nabatieh Governorates and also completed assessments in Bekaa and Baalbeck-Hermel Governorates. The Southern and Nabatieh Governorates have been the hardest hit, with 18,507 buildings either fully or partially destroyed, accounting for approximately 7.7 per cent of all pre-conflict buildings in these two governorates. Marjaayoun was the district most impacted with more than 27 per cent of its buildings destroyed, followed by Bint Jbeil with nearly 15 per cent of builds destroyed or damaged. The Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates saw 464 and 566 buildings destroyed or damaged during the conflict respectively. Between September 2023 and December 2024, it is estimated that between 11 and 15 million tonnes of debris resulted from conflict-induced destruction and damage.

According to the Health Sector, hundreds of thousands of people returning to conflict-affected communities face additional risks posed by unexploded ordnance, collapsed structures, human remains and destroyed water and sanitation facilities, exacerbating the risk of communicable disease outbreaks. While most closed health facilities have reopened since the cessation of hostilities, three hospitals and 26 primary health care centres (PHCCs) remain closed. Some 98 PHCCs were completely destroyed during the conflict and 51 suffered partial damage but could potentially resume operations after emergency repairs and re-equipping.