UN calls Lebanon displacement "devastating" amid daily Israeli bombardment
Shafaq News/ On Friday, the United Nations described the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon as "devastating," criticizing the international support as "minimal" amid daily Israeli bombardment for more than two weeks.
The clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began on the heels of the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Lebanese party opened a "support front" for the Gaza Strip.
Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Lebanon since September 23, targeting what it claims are infrastructure and facilities belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, eastern Lebanon, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Since then, the ongoing bombardment has resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 individuals, including women and children, and the displacement of nearly a million others. The bombardment has led to the death of more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since October 2023, as a cumulative toll.
Othman Belbeisi, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)'s Middle East and North Africa regional director, told AFP during a visit to Beirut on Thursday, "Lebanon needs more support. What has been offered so far is minimal and does not match the needs.”
Belbeisi clarified that the IOM has "verified and tracked" around 690,000 displaced individuals in Lebanon, noting that approximately 400,000 others have left the country, many heading to neighboring Syria.
According to the Lebanese government and the IOM, about a quarter of the displaced (more than 185,000 people) in Lebanon live in official shelters, such as schools. The IOM reported that another quarter of the displaced have rented accommodations, while around 47% reside in "hosting places," with many staying with relatives and some sleeping on the streets without a place to go.
In this context, Belbeisi remarked, "It's really sad to see this (displacement) again in Lebanon," a country that suffered from a civil war from 1975 to 1990 and a month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
As smoke billowed from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, residents fled their homes "with nothing, out of fear, and now they have to rebuild everything once again,” he added.
The director explained that the UN has appealed to the international community for $426 million to address the humanitarian crisis in the country over the next three months, including $32 million for the IOM to assist around 400,000 people.
"We hope that everybody will be able to scale up their capacity; we want this (displacement) to end as soon as possible.”
On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the appeal has received only 12% of its target, totaling $51 million.
It is worth mentioning that Lebanon has been experiencing an ongoing economic collapse since 2019, during which the majority of the population has fallen below the poverty line, with the state unable to provide the most basic services.
