Lebanon emergency

May 6, 2026    

For two months, the SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams in Lebanon have been responding to the humanitarian emergency caused by the war. In the south of the country, Marwa Shami, shelter officer, and Rafik Hayek, driver, share their testimonies.  

First of all, how are you?

Marwa. I would say that it’s like being in a fog: at times I feel fine, because I have adapted to the situation, but at other times, I feel overwhelmed, stressed.  

Rafik. It’s really difficult. There is a lot of pressure, a lot of responsibility, my mind is in a thousand places at once. When I am with my parents I think about my wife, when I am with my wife I think about my son, I am never at peace.  

How is the war affecting you personally?

M. Like the whole team in southern Lebanon, I have been displaced. My parents, my sister and I left our home at the beginning of the war. The three of them are staying with other family members, 1.5 hours away from where I am, near Saïda. I work every day, and on weekends I visit them, I help them, I reassure them. I no longer have any time for myself.  

R. I live between several places: where my parents are staying with family, and where I rent an apartment with my wife and her parents. Two days here, two days there. My son and my ex-wife are in another apartment. Nothing is like it was before. I try to make sure they all have everything they need.  

How has the situation evolved since the ceasefire?

M. I was able to go home, but only for 24 hours – I sorted out a few problems and that was it, it’s too dangerous. In the field, it does not look like a ceasefire, in the villages in the south, we can hear the bombings and the drones.  

R.  For us, the situation is the same. I have lost loved ones and a family member, my building in the Tyre region was bombed. I went there, I saw that everything had been destroyed, fortunately the apartment was empty… But it is added pressure.  

How is the war impacting the way you work?

M. Before joining the NGO in December 2025, I was an architect, and then I sought to combine my experience with humanitarian work. What interests me in shelter work is responding to the real needs of people who live there, and for that you need to understand their habits and their wishes. What I have come to understand is that people want to remain in their homes and live on their land, even if the conditions are precarious. I was told: “I would be grateful if you could put a door here to partition the space, or a window here to keep the wind out”, even with the bombings just a few kilometres away. I am learning a lot from this emergency. 

R. It’s as if we were born into the war, we make do with it, and unfortunately, we get used to it. Back in 2006, I worked in demining in southern Lebanon with a Swedish NGO. Then, I went to work abroad, and I came back last year to support my family. Today, it remains difficult to be at work knowing that something could happen to them. But at least, we continue to act. I think it brings us relief to know that what we are doing can help people feel better. 

M. Yes, we have our fear, our stress, but we have to remain professional. I understand the displaced people I meet, because I am living through the same situation myself, but I do not always tell them when I am asked. Above all, I want to give them energy, to bring a little positivity into their day. 

APRIL 23, 2026    

“People are very tired and anxious. They don’t know whether they should stay, go back, leave, or where to go. They have no certainty about what will happen,” laments Mahdi Jaafar, field coordinator in southern Lebanon for SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL. 

Following the announcement of a ten-day ceasefire, which came into effect at midnight on Friday, April 17, many Lebanese people rushed to head south. Entire families were sometimes stuck in traffic jams. Others, who had been displaced farther north, sent only one or two household members to assess the extent of the damage. 

Upon arrival, scenes of devastation awaited them. “The destruction is massive, entire villages have disappeared,” Mahdi describes. Where houses are still standing, “there is no water, electricity, internet, or food in the supermarkets.” At the same time, nearby destruction continues. Passing through the city of Tyre last weekend, our colleague reports: “We could very clearly and loudly hear the sound of houses being demolished by the Israeli army in the surrounding villages.” 

It is therefore difficult for the Lebanese population to believe in the stability of the ceasefire. “Those who have returned home keep their cars ready to leave at any moment,” observes the field coordinator. But most have already taken to the road again. “People only came back for one or two days, just enough to check their homes, do some cleaning, and pick up a few clothes.” 

In yet another displacement, residents of the south then retraced their steps to return to the collective shelters where they have been forced to live since the start of the war. 

Indeed, as early as Monday, reception centers in Saïda, which had somewhat emptied after the announcement of the agreement, were once again full, “even more than before,” Mahdi notes. “There has been an influx of people coming from the north, who did not go directly back to the south but came here instead, to be closer to their homes and assess the situation.” 

Adapting day by day to meet evolving needs is also what SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams are doing. This week, they managed to begin work in an emergency shelter not far from Tyre, an area that had until now been cut off due to the bombing of the last bridge crossing the Litani River. Food parcels as well as hygiene kits will also be distributed there next week.

APRIL 20, 2026    

A ten-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Friday, April 17. Despite violations already reported, it offers some respite for exhausted civilians, including our colleagues.  

“We’re working in a very risky environment,” says Mahdi Jaafar, who recently joined SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL as a field coordinator in the 20-person team in southern Lebanon. “Most of us are either displaced or host displaced people, we’ve lost friends and relatives, and some have seen their homes destroyed.” 

Marwa Al Shami is the shelter coordinator for the NGO, also based in Saida. “Now, I am an IDP,” she says, using the humanitarian term for internally displaced persons. “It’s a very stressful and sad situation; I’m far from home, from my comfort zone, from where I’ve lived for 27 years.” Forced to leave her home in southern Lebanon at the start of the war, she laments the distance separating her from her parents, who have been displaced to another city further north. 

Despite these extremely trying conditions, the team remains motivated. “To help as much as possible, that’s why I stayed here,” says Mahdi, who is a humanitarian worker as well as a paramedic. “I was visiting my family between missions when the war started, so I stayed to help them and volunteer.” 

Like him, Marwa is out in the field every day visiting collective shelters to assess the repairs needed to ensure displaced people are housed in dignified conditions.  

Their courage and that of their colleagues has already helped support 20,521 people affected by the war.  

With the ceasefire, they will continue their efforts southward to reach the most isolated communities and meet the needs of those returning home. “Many people are already on their way back,” noted Colin Rehel, director at SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, on Friday morning. “But given the fragility of the agreement, we also expect many people to remain displaced while waiting to see how the situation develops.” 

On April 8, Israeli bombardments severely damaged the last bridge spanning the Litani River, drastically restricting passage and access for tens of thousands of people in and around the major city of Tyre. A further attack on Thursday evening damaged it further, and while many families are waiting to cross it to return home, Lebanese authorities are working to rebuild it. 

APRIL 13, 2026    

At the Kaser Al Adel reception center in Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city, a mattress lies directly on the floor in a dimly lit room where natural light barely filters in. The sky-blue walls are peeling, and belongings are piled up in every corner. These are the few possessions Alyah Mohammed Saleh and her family managed to bring with them. Warned of impending airstrikes, they were forced to urgently flee their apartment in Tefahta, about twenty kilometers away. “The journey here was very long because of traffic jams, we spent seven hours on the road,” says the young woman, wrapped in a fleece sweater.

Like this family, more than 1.3 million people in Lebanon have now been displaced by the war. Those who fled their homes have taken shelter with relatives or in one of 682 collective accommodation centers, which are hosting nearly 140,000 people as of early April. 

In the middle of the room, a sheet stretched across serves as a partition, offering minimal privacy. Alyah shares the space with her husband, their two children, her parents, her sister, her brother, and their respective families. “Access to water and toilets is difficult. There are only two bathrooms, so they quickly become overcrowded and we have to wait in long lines,” she explains. 

“We are not used to living in such conditions,” confirms 71-year-old Hussein Naiim, who is staying in another collective shelter in the city. “People are helping us, of course, but it’s far from normal,” he adds. Behind him, rows of clotheslines bear witness to the recent influx of displaced people. The white-haired man admits he has “only one dream”: to return home, some sixty kilometers further south. But for now, that is impossible, it is too dangerous. “There is no one left there.” 

The same story is echoed by the Bdeir family. Hiba, her brother, and their parents, all from southern Lebanon, have been staying for over a month at the Al Afak Institute. The 25-year-old works as a web designer, but surrounded by 400 people, concentration is difficult. “There is constant noise, and electricity or internet cuts happen frequently. I’m used to working remotely, but in these conditions it’s hard,” she says. 

To improve the precarious living conditions of displaced people, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is assessing the needs in collective shelters and carrying out rehabilitation work. Since early March, six centers have been renovated, and work is ongoing in ten others. At the Al Afak Institute, which hosts around one hundred families, teams have repaired showers, taps, toilets, and doors. “We have also installed a solar water heating system,” says Hassan El Sayed, the NGO’s field coordinator. 

In these shelters, teams also distribute essential items: 2,352 displaced people have received mattresses, pillows, blankets, solar lamps, and jerrycans; 541 family hygiene kits, as well as specific kits containing sanitary products and baby supplies, have been distributed; and 398 households in 18 centers without kitchen access have received ready-to-eat meals for two weeks.

APRIL 10, 2026    

“If there were any people left who weren’t traumatized, they certainly are now,” laments Hassan El Sayed, field coordinator for SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL in Saïda.

On Thursday, April 9, Lebanon woke up in shock. The day before, massive airstrikes had rained down on several regions of the country. “About a hundred strikes in ten minutes—unprecedented,” Hassan describes. “Areas previously considered safe, such as downtown Saida, Beirut, or the Chouf, were hit with intense force. Entire buildings were leveled, and all without warning.” More than 300 people, including 33 children, according to UNICEF, lost their lives, and another 1,500 were injured. As of now, victims remain buried under the rubble.

Full of hope of returning to their homes, thousands of Lebanese who had set out for the south after the announcement of a ceasefire on Tuesday night, found themselves trapped by Israeli bombardments. “It’s a double trauma, extreme stress,” notes the field coordinator. “We are the polar opposite of the hoped-for calm; the humanitarian impact has been multiplied.” In addition to the heavy human toll of the attacks, many civilians, already worn down by more than a month of war, are being forced to move, once again, to collective shelters or to stay with relatives.

On the Litani River, the bombings have damaged the last bridge connecting the south of the country—and in particular the coastal city of Tyre—further isolating residents of this area near the front line. Yesterday, the Lebanese Civil Defense managed to clear part of the infrastructure, but traffic remains virtually impossible there, and if the situation persists, humanitarian needs could rapidly worsen.

Despite the psychological impact of the attacks on our Lebanese colleagues—who have themselves been displaced with their families, some to bombed areas—SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams were on the ground as early as Thursday morning to distribute hygiene and cleaning kits at collective shelters in Saida. “It’s true that we’re much more afraid, but we have this sense of humanitarian determination that drives people to go above and beyond,” Hassan emphasizes. Assessment after assessment, the teams determine “when to go and which route to take” in order to deliver aid to the hardest-to-reach areas

In this context of urgency and uncertainty, everyone now hopes “that the Lebanese people will not be forgotten in international arrangements.”

APRIL 3, 2026    

On March 26, a convoy organised by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL successfully reached the Nabatieh area in the south of the country. Our teams distributed food parcels in the towns of Deir Zahrani, Jebchit, Ebba, and Ansar to 1,127 vulnerable families, including single-parent households and those with young children or disabled family members.  

Southern Lebanon has been particularly affected by evacuation orders since the beginning of the month, with more than a million people now displaced within the country. Recently, the governorate of Tyre has been affected by this forced exile, triggering new population movements.   

Bombings in this area have targeted strategic infrastructure, including gas stations, major highways, and, most recently, the Qasmiyeh bridge.  

SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams visited 18 emergency shelters without kitchens and distributed food parcels and ready-to-eat meals to 398 displaced people, providing enough food to meet the needs of a family of five for two weeks. At the same time, the NGO assessed the services of 24 centers and carried out the rehabilitation of latrines and showers, connected the buildings to water networks, and installed partitions in four of them. Work on the other centers is scheduled for the coming days. 

In total, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s recent aid has benefited 2,369 households and 12,402 people.   

March 24, 2026   

Over the past few days, evacuation orders have increased in villages situated south of the Litani and Zahrani rivers, and in many areas of the southern suburbs of Beirut. Over one million Lebanese men and women are now in exile, fleeing mainly to the north of the country, the capital, Mount Lebanon, or the Bekaa Valley. While some are welcomed by relatives and others are sleeping in their cars or tents, a total of 132,742 people have sought shelter in one of the 622 emergency centers. 

These overcrowded shelters are struggling to meet the growing needs of the population. To ensure healthy and dignified living conditions, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL conducted an assessment of access to water, hygiene and sanitation facilities in 16 of these shelters. After identifying several issues, our teams have initiated the rehabilitation of the latrines and showers, the construction of water tanks, and the strengthening of the buildings’ waterproofing.

Food distributions were provided to 398 families and 1,240 people received mattresses, blankets, pillows, and solar lamps. To help reduce health risks, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL also distributed 462 hygiene kits to cover the needs of a family of five for one month, as well as 312 menstrual hygiene kits and 191 baby care kits. 

Families stuck under bombs in hard-to-reach areas

In the particularly hard-to-each areas surrounding Nabatieh, which are regularly bombed and where forced displacement orders limit the presence of humanitarian workers, the mission organised a convoy to distribute food supplies to 500 families who were unable to travel, often elderly people, single women, people with disabilities, or families lacking the necessary resources. 

Indeed, while humanitarian efforts are currently focused on assisting displaced populations in emergency shelters – whose needs are enormous -, vulnerable people who are unable to move remain in areas affected by hostilities. Now that essential stores are closed, they depend on humanitarian aid, which is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver due to the devastating conflict. 

A total of 1.3 million people in Lebanon are currently in need of humanitarian aid. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has recently assisted 6,992 people and is redoubling its efforts to reach more every day. 

March 17, 2026   

The silence occasionally broken by the distant sound of drones, shuttered shops and deserted streets. This appears to be all that remains of Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, two weeks after the start of the Israeli bombardment. 

A few days ago, the south of the country saw massive population movements, punctuated by evacuation orders and the sound of cars fleeing northwards. Today, however, the streets are eerily quiet. People have either fled or locked themselves in their homes in search of security. Those who are forced to stay at home are often the most vulnerable: the elderly, isolated women and families who are unable to leave. 

On Monday, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL distributed humanitarian aid in Nabatieh, north of the Litani river. This area had been placed under evacuation orders. In these hard-to-reach areas, where the population is in desperate need of assistance, the NGO’s teams collaborated with local municipalities to distribute food kits. These distributions will continue over the next two weeks. 

March 13, 2026

“We only had ten minutes to pack up our lives and leave. Missiles were falling all around us. We drove all night and spent our first night sleeping on the pavement before finding refuge in a school, which is now hosting us,” says a displaced Lebanese teacher.

For two days, testimonies have been flooding in, all telling the same story: the evacuation was sudden and brutal, often taking place during bombing. “We walked in constant fear that something would fall on us,” adds another Lebanese woman. As this Syrian woman who left her village with a few clothes grabbed in a panic as the bombing approached.

There are now more than 816,000 displaced people. Of these, 126,000 have found refuge in the 589 collective shelters that have opened, but most of these are full to capacity. Many of these shelters are unsuitable for accommodating large numbers of people – such as schools – resulting in extremely precarious living conditions: overcrowded rooms with no privacy, heating and no adequate sanitation. Some families have not yet found shelter and are still sleeping in their cars.

Around fifty SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL employees are working in Lebanon, fully committed to organising emergency distributions and rehabilitating collective reception centers. 7,000 people have already benefited from this aid: food packages, hygiene kits, blankets and mattresses have been distributed, and work on waterproofing, heating and connecting to water and sewerage networks is continuing in the centers. Toilets and showers must be built quickly to prevent unsanitary conditions from developing.

Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that France would triple its humanitarian aid supplies, from 20 to 60 tonnes, in partnership with the CMA CGM Foundation. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL will receive some of this equipment and distribute it to collective sites in Akkar and the south of the country.

The French government has also allocated six million euros in support to humanitarian organisations in Lebanon. While this aid is valuable, it is insufficient in the face of enormous needs, particularly when compared to the 100 million euros announced for 2024.

The humanitarian priorities remain clear: housing, water and food.
However, given the scale of the destruction and the instability of the situation, it is clear that the humanitarian crisis will be a long-term one, regardless of how the fighting evolves.

March 6, 2026

Lebanon: exodus accelerates after evacuation order south of Beirut

Since the evacuation order imposed yesterday by the Israeli authorities south of Beirut, population movements have reached a new threshold. According to the latest estimates, nearly half a million people have already been forced to flee their homes. The situation has rapidly deteriorated, with 95,773 people now registered in the 441 official reception centres opened across the country.

With each passing hour, new needs arise: food, drinking water, emergency accommodation, hygiene, protection… Reception centres are overwhelmed, and local infrastructure is struggling to cope with the massive influx of displaced families.

SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has begun distributing food in northern and southern Lebanon and is continuing to assess priority needs.

March 3, 2026, 4 p.m.

The day was marked by an intensification of the conflict. Lebanon has become one of the main fronts of war, with heavy bombing and Israeli ground incursions in the south of the country.

The number of people fleeing the war to the north continues to rise. By midday, 50,000 people had been registered in collective reception centres, while thousands more were still seeking shelter.

SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL was able to distribute hygiene kits to people arriving at four collective reception centres in Saida, a large coastal city located 40 kilometres south of Beirut.

March 3, 2026, 10 a.m.

Since February 28, the United States and Israel have been attacking Iran, exacerbating the already severe crises in the region. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has been operating in the region for over 20 years and is ready to support those affected by this major act of violence. While the future of the Iranian population remains uncertain, the consequences are already dire in Lebanon.  

Uncertain futures in Iran  

The United States and Israel’s attack on Iran on 28 February is having repercussions in a Middle East that is already severely affected by crises. While the human cost remains unclear, the Iranian people have immediately been faced with issues relating to protection and health. Many people are also likely to have to leave their homes. Displacement is a time of extreme vulnerability, as access to essential services such as water, food and shelter is often unavailable. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is therefore prepared to provide assistance in neighbouring countries if population movements occur, and in Iran if access becomes possible.  

In Lebanon, the population is fleeing 

Teams are closely following the situation in all countries in the region. Of these, Lebanon is experiencing the most severe humanitarian consequences. The conflict spread quickly there, culminating in massive strikes on March 2nd in the southern suburbs of Beirut and southern Lebanon. Evacuation orders continue to multiply, and an offensive by the Tsahal started on the morning of March 3rd. Within 12 hours, tens of thousands of people had left their homes. By the evening, there were long traffic jams on Lebanese roads, mainly heading north.
This was an additional disaster for these people, most of whom had already been displaced and had seen their environment destroyed 18 months earlier during the war between Hezbollah and Israel. 

Imminent deployment of humanitarian aid 

The SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL team has also been affected. Several members have been forced to flee their homes due to air strikes or evacuation orders and are currently trying to find shelter for their families. Nevertheless, the team is organising humanitarian aid. More than 40,000 people have already arrived at collective centres. Most of these are schools that have been made available, but they cannot provide the minimum level of sanitation and heating for these families, who are being housed there day and night at the end of winter. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL will therefore urgently upgrade the infrastructure. Distributions of basic necessities and hygiene kits are also being prepared. 

As the entire region holds its breath, Lebanon is experiencing another tragedy in an atmosphere of almost resigned silence. The harsh winter and the Ramadan period are making an already difficult situation even worse. While the rest of the world analyses events and ponders the geopolitical future of the Middle East, let us not forget that civilians always pay the highest price in armed conflicts. 

Header photo : © Elisa ODDONE