Lebanon

Two months of conflict escalation, preceded by 11 months of continued hostilities – the largest in scale the country has seen since 2006 – has had catastrophic impacts across Lebanon. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 4,047 people were killed, including 290 children and 790 women, by 4 December 2024. While relative calm was restored following the announcement of a cessation of hostilities, the situation remains fragile, and Lebanon continues to grapple with an increasingly complex humanitarian situation.

Population movements have been fluid and complex, as people affected by the conflict escalation respond cautiously to unfolding events. In 2024, Lebanon was estimated by its government to be hosting 1.5M displaced Syrians (who fled the crisis in Syria), 23,026 Palestinian Refugees from Syria, 200,000 Palestine Refugees in Lebanon and over 11,200 refugees of other nationalities. IOM also identified 175,947 migrants (70 per cent women) in Lebanon.

The intense conflict, between 8 October 2023 and 24 November 2024, displaced at least 899,725 people (51per cent female and 49 per cent male) within Lebanon (DTM). By 25 November, 190,102 people were registered in 1,177 collective shelters and 3,316 were registered in 11 UNRWA emergency shelters. UNHCR identified over 105,000 refugees who were secondarily displaced in Lebanon, while an estimated 562,000 people (37 per cent Lebanese and 63 per cent Syrians) had left Lebanon to Syria, and 41,442 Lebanese nationals crossed into Iraq. Some 25,000 migrants were also forced to flee their homes and workplaces (IOM).

Since the announcement of a cessation of hostilities, and as of 26 December, 819,693 people¹ displaced within Lebanon were reported as being back in their cadasters of origin, with the largest number of return movements recorded in Nabatieh, Sour and Baalbek districts. Meanwhile, 160,900 people remained displaced outside their cadasters of origin, mainly in Aley, Saida, Beirut and Chouf districts (DTM). An estimated 4,485 displaced people remained in 45 collective shelters (DRM). Cross-border movements into Lebanon are also being observed, with 90,000 people crossing into Lebanon from Syria as of 19 December (UNHCR), including an estimated 38,000 hosted in 159 informal collective shelters (mostly Syrians), 32,000 Syrians outside collective shelters and 20,000 Lebanese returnees from villages along the Syria/Lebanon border. The Government of Lebanon has recorded around 10,000 Syrians returning to Syria through official border crossing points, as of 12 December. Movements continue daily through both formal and informal bordercrossings. Some of these returns appear to be temporary, as individuals travel back to Syria to check on family members or assess the condition of their properties.

Many displaced people who are returning to their communities from collective shelters or other locations where they had sought refuge are facing the reality of destroyed infrastructure and limited access to essential services. Nearly 100,000 housing units have been either completely destroyed or partially damaged in conflict affected areas, amounting to US$2.8B in losses (World Bank). The recent wave of destruction has also exacerbated explosive ordnance contamination in conflict affected areas. Meanwhile, many are not able to return to more than 60 localities in southern Lebanon, following continued warnings from the Israeli Army.