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Situation Overview (as of 31 October)
More than 472,000 people are estimated to have crossed from Lebanon to Syria since the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon on 23 September. It is estimated that 71 per cent are Syrians and 29 per cent are Lebanese and other nationalities including Palestinians. Some 56 per cent of the new arrivals are estimated under the age of 18. Many crossing into Syria are in dire conditions, with some bearing injuries and traumas due to the hostilities in Lebanon and/or from the long journey.
The Government of Syria has implemented supportive measures for both Syrians and Lebanese fleeing the hostilities in Lebanon, including temporarily lifting the entry condition of exchanging US$100 into Syrian Pounds that is normally required of each Syrian when entering Syria; and applying an ‘open-door’ policy for the Lebanese, accepting alternative documentation to passports as proof of identity and permitting a 6-month stay that allows access to national health and education services.
The border crossings between Lebanon and Syria have emerged as targets for attacks. The airstrikes against the Masnaa border crossing (close to the Lebanese check point) on 4 October created a crater on the primary route to the Jdaidet Yabous crossing point. That crater rendered the road unusable for vehicles. Further attacks have been reported in the vicinity of other crossing points including Joussieh, where UNHCR’s humanitarian installations were damaged by the airstrikes, and Matraba. Due to these attacks, some formal crossing points were temporarily closed, adding to the disruption of access into Syria.
After the first three weeks of the influx, there has been a reduction in the daily rate of entry through the formal border crossings – from tens of thousands of individuals per day at the start of the influx to a daily inflow of approximately 3,000 individuals. However, in the same period, the number of informal border crossings reportedly increased.
At the border crossing points, humanitarian actors continue providing water, food, relief items, medical services, legal assistance and other vital services. For the vulnerable families who were unable to arrange transportation from the border crossing points to their intended destinations, UNHCR partners have arranged transportation to support their travel. So far, UNHCR and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) supported approximately 38,000 individuals with transportation arrangements to their destination. Buses have been similarly used to help new arrivals travelling from the crater site at the Masnaa border crossing to the Jdaidet Yabous border crossing to process safe entry into Syria.
The intended destinations of the new arrivals are spread across different areas in Syria – both in Government and nonGovernment controlled areas. While practical difficulties have caused delays in some cases, new arrivals have been generally able to reach their destinations as intended. For Syrians, these destinations are mainly in Ar-Raqqa, Aleppo and Rural Damascus Governorates. Most Lebanese refugees intended to travel to Homs, Hama, Latakia, Tartous and Rural Damascus Governorates. As of 31 October, out of some 250,000 new arrivals registered with SARC, approximately 18,230 families (some 98,600 individuals), the equivalent of 40 per cent of the registered new arrivals, have arrived in north-east Syria since the onset of the emergency.
The majority of newly arrived Syrians are hosted by their relatives and local communities. The majority of Lebanese refugees are staying in rented accommodation or with host families. Lebanese who do not have alternative accommodation are staying in hosting centres established by local authorities. There are currently 44 locally established hosting centres in Syria, with an estimated collective capacity of more than 11,000 persons. At present, 21 centres hosting Lebanese families are active. As of 31 October, some 6,200 Lebanese are residing in 13 hosting centres in Tartous and Latakia Governorates; 537 Lebanese are at 7 hosting centres in Homs and Hama Governorates; and approximately 1,500 Lebanese are being hosted in a hosting centre in Rural Damascus Governorate. Many of these hosting centres were established in buildings of public institution, such as schools or sports and religious facilities, which were not originally designed to accommodate people, thus requiring further adjustments and rehabilitation to address protection-related gaps.
At the intended destinations, the UN agencies and international and national NGOs provide diverse and complementary support to the new arrivals based on their needs as identified through monitoring. For instance, UNHCR and its partners provide legal assistance regarding residency, civil registration, and housing, land and property documentation, distribute non-food items including winter items, and improve the living conditions of the hosting centres, among others. Meanwhile, UNICEF delivers non-formal education programmes for students, supporting some 2,300 Syrian and Lebanese newly arrived students, and providing school materials, stationery kits, and textbooks; WFP distributes hot and/or ready-to-eat meals and regular food rations, reaching around 16,000 people in hosting centres and communities across Rural Damascus, Latakia, Tartous, Hama, Homs, Idleb, Deir-ez-Zor, and Ar-Raqqa Governorates, while other Food Security & Agriculture Sector partners have distributed hot meals or sandwiches to over 2,500 people at transit points/hosting centres in Latakia and Rural Damascus; and UNFPA provides reproductive health and psychosocial support and gender-based violence case management, conducts awareness-raising sessions, and distributes female hygiene kits.
Considering that Syrian households have already been suffering from 14-years of conflict, with the majority of its population living under the poverty line, their generosity of hosting new arrivals nonetheless exerts an additional burden on the already vulnerable Syrian local communities. In order to maintain social cohesion, humanitarian actors are aiming to support both the vulnerable new arrivals and the communities that host them.