Israeli attacks displace over 1M in Lebanon, one in five affected: UNHCR

More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon over the past month following Israeli attacks, with one in every five people in the country currently displaced, according to the UNHCR.

UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told Anadolu on Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Lebanon is “deepening day by day.”

“We have seen it during the last one month that the Israeli evacuation orders, then the strikes and people have been on the move. Right now inside Lebanon we have more than a million people that have been displaced because of the escalating conflict inside the region and in Lebanon itself as well,” Baloch said.

He stressed that one in five people inside Lebanon “currently is displaced and many of them are desperate, they're traumatised,” adding that displacement is occurring across the country, with more than 130,000 people sheltering in over 600 collective centres.

“The conflict intensifies and escalates and it does not stop, it keeps going on with the Lebanese people and Syrian refugees who live in Lebanon, affecting them but it also forces people to leave Lebanon and seek safety somewhere else,” he added.

Families are sleeping in overcrowded shelters, often without adequate indoor conditions, he said.

Risk of long-term mass displacement

International Organization for Migration chief Amy Pope also told AFP on Thursday in Beirut that the prospects for prolonged mass displacement in Lebanon.

"I think those prospects are very alarming because you look right now at the level of destruction that's happening and... the further destruction that has been threatened," she said when asked about the possibility of prolonged mass displacement.

"There are parts of the south that are being completely flattened... even if the war ends tomorrow, that destruction remains and there needs to be a rebuilding," she said, noting the reconstruction requires funding, resources and peace.

"Unless we start to see those things come into place, that means that people will be displaced now for who knows how long," she added.

Over 200,000 flee to Syria in 1 month

Baloch said humanitarian partners are assisting displaced populations on the ground and have distributed around 200,000 aid items so far.

In the past month alone, more than 200,000 people crossed from Lebanon into Syria, he added.

Of those, around 180,000 were Syrian refugees previously living in Lebanon, while more than 20,000 were Lebanese nationals.

Around 7,000 people cross daily

“If you do an average of last one month, we have had around 7,000 people, Lebanese and Syrians arriving into Syria each day for one month. It's a very difficult situation for the civilian population,” Baloch said, noting humanitarian workers are also operating under dangerous conditions.

“These displaced people inside Lebanon keep moving from one location to another. And this is not the first time that a situation like this have affected Lebanese and Syrians inside Lebanon,” he noted.

Baloch also said UNHCR has launched a humanitarian appeal of more than $60 million.

“We are seeking more than US$300 million to support Lebanese and Syrian refugees inside the country who have been displaced by this conflict for the coming months,” he added.

Over 3 million displaced in Iran

Baloch also addressed the situation in Iran, which has been under attack by Israel and the US.

Describing conditions as “quite worrying,” he said local authorities estimate more than 3 million Iranians have been displaced internally over the past month.

He noted Iran hosts a significant number of Afghan refugees, with around 1.6 million currently in the country.

So far, there has been no major cross-border movement from Iran to neighbouring countries, with figures to Iraq, Türkiye, Armenia, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan remaining consistent with pre-conflict levels.

However, Baloch warned the situation could change if the conflict persists.

$80m appeal launched

UNHCR has launched an $80 million humanitarian appeal to support Afghan refugees and Iranian host communities affected by the conflict.

“Because our job as we have been helping Afghan refugees inside the country since last one month, we have been receiving many desperate appeals from Afghan refugees that have they have been badly affected by the ongoing conflict,” Baloch said.

The funding aims to assist around 2.8 million people, including 1.8 million Afghan refugees and nearly 1 million Iranian host communities affected by the crisis.