Qabr Chamoun, Lebanon – Nestled in the hills of Mount Lebanon, about an hour from Beirut, a school has been converted into a shelter for families displaced from southern Lebanon due to Israeli attacks. Once bustling with students, the schoolyard now serves as a distribution point for aid, with empty slides and swings. Inside classrooms, desks have been pushed aside to make room for mattresses, as displaced families seek refuge from the escalating conflict.
Aymane Malli, 49, holding the hand of his five-year-old son Jad, stated, “It’s very difficult. But for me, it’s OK because I have to survive. I have to take care of my family.” Malli fled with his wife and five children from Habbouch, near the coastal city of Tyre, after Israel began bombing Lebanon on March 2, two days after it launched its joint war with the United States against Iran. When asked about the coming weeks, Malli repeated, “We wait. Maybe one day everything will end, and we can return home… if we can return home. We don’t have another choice.”
Across Lebanon, schools, public buildings, and makeshift shelters are filling with families escaping the latest round of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect in late November 2024 after over a year of cross-border attacks, but Israel repeatedly violated the agreement, with the United Nations documenting more than 10,000 ceasefire violations. In recent weeks, Israel has intensified strikes and initiated a ground invasion of southern Lebanon after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched an attack in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli air attack on February 28.
Lebanese authorities report that the latest Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,300 people, including some 120 children, and forced over 1.1 million people from their homes as Israeli forced evacuation threats and air attacks push civilians further north. Bilal Hussein, a 42-year-old chef who fled Tyre with his family during the initial bombardment, recalled, “There were strikes around us. We realized we had to go.” His family endured a two-day journey north, often stuck in traffic, and attempted to find space in four or five shelters, all of which were full.
Aid groups warn that scenes in Qabr Chamoun are being replicated nationwide, with many families arriving in mountainous areas only to be turned away from overcrowded shelters. Action Against Hunger informed Al Jazeera that over 400 people had been denied entry at the Qabr Chamoun school due to capacity limits. The organization is supporting more than 43,000 displaced people across 247 collective shelters. Suzanne Takkenberg, the organization’s regional director, emphasized, “Despite our efforts and those of the humanitarian community, major gaps remain. Many people are still living in informal shelters or even on the streets. Reduced humanitarian funding limits the scale and speed of our response, leaving critical needs unmet and putting lives at risk.”
Conditions in some shelters are deteriorating, with water leaks through ceilings and walls, children suffering from gastrointestinal illnesses and eye infections, and families unable to properly clean bottles and utensils, leading to diarrhoea and vomiting among infants. Takkenberg noted, “These are not isolated cases; they are the reality for displaced families across the country. The most vulnerable – children, older people, and people with disabilities – are the hardest hit. One in five displaced people is a child, yet conditions are far from adequate to meet their basic needs or guarantee their safety.”
The aid group highlighted that destruction of key infrastructure, particularly bridges and access routes across the Litani River, is contributing to the growing isolation of southern Lebanon and preventing more families from fleeing. Damage to farmland and supply routes is also beginning to affect food production and access, raising concerns about long-term food security. Recent statements by Israeli officials further indicate intentions to establish a prolonged security presence or full-scale occupation in southern Lebanon, leaving many families uncertain if they will ever return home.
This uncertainty weighs heavily on individuals like Mohammed al-Mustafa, a sweets seller from Tyre sheltering in Qabr Chamoun. With a trembling voice, he expressed, “It’s not the material things I worry about leaving behind. It’s the memories. We lived in that house for 40 years. Old photographs, our lives. We hope we can go back and find them.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com