‘I put my hands over my children’s eyes’: stories of the displaced in Lebanon

May AchourConflict, Humanitarian, Refugees and IDPs

The start of waves of intensified Israeli airstrikes in September forced over a million people to flee, with many still displaced today despite a shaky ceasefire. Here, May Achour shares three stories from people caught in the chaos and trauma of recent months.

Siham with her daughter (Picture: Jean Hatem/Oxfam)

For Siham, it’s difficult to escape the horror of the airstrike that drove her and her family from their home in southern Lebanon on 23 September this year. Despite finding safe shelter in northern Lebanon, she relives the terror at night.

“Whenever I put my head on the pillow, I keep seeing flashes of those moments,” she says. “We started hearing the airstrikes getting closer and closer,” she remembers. When their home was hit, “I put my hands over my children’s eyes in an effort to protect them. Every time I want to go to sleep, all these problems come to my mind – the challenges we faced, what happened to us, and what is happening today. I wonder how tomorrow will be.”

While trying to protect her daughters, Siham (pictured above) sustained injuries to her hand, neck, and eye.

They are among over 1.4 million people who were displaced by the war on Lebanon: many of them fled to collective shelters where the government and others, including Oxfam and partners, provided clean water, hygiene and period management kits, sanitation support, food, emergency and temporary cash assistance, protection services and other basic assistance (such as bedding kits including mattresses, pillows, blankets). Support was offered in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and South and North Lebanon.

Despite the announcement of a ceasefire on November 27, many are still displaced: the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports around 179,000 people remain displaced from their home areas, with many of the rest who have returned to their areas of origin “confronted with destroyed homes, devastated infrastructure, disrupted essential services and lack of safety and security”.

Here are a few stories of people who fled the war in Lebanon [note these accounts date from before the November 27th ceasefire agreement].

Habib: ‘I pray for better days’

Habib, 52, lived with his wife and two daughters in southern Lebanon until a year ago when the conflict extended to Lebanon. He and his family have had to move three times in the past year as the conflict has escalated.

The family finally fled to northern Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon forced them out in late September. Habib says they left everything they had behind. “All I cared about is getting my family and daughters inside the car and leaving. I was driving non-stop for at least 16 hours, heading to the unknown, surrounded by Israeli airstrikes. I think it’s a miracle that I’m currently here.”

Habib, a displaced man, at his shelter in North Lebanon (Picture: Jean Hatem/Oxfam)

“I pray for better days and more safety for all the people across Lebanon. This has been our life, displacement after displacement. I wish our country can have more safety and stability.”

At the time we spoke to him, Habib was waiting to return. “Whenever they announce a ceasefire, I’m heading home, even if that means setting up a tent to stay in, on the rubble of my home.”

Oum Ali: ‘Israeli airstrikes were surrounding us on all sides’

Oum Ali (not her real name) is a mother of seven from southern Lebanon who had to leave her home suddenly and in a rush during intense Israeli airstrikes in late September. Unable to take any of their belongings, the family (including five children) piled into a family car and headed north along with thousands of other civilians.

“Israeli airstrikes were surrounding us on all sides of the road,” she told Oxfam. “It took us 17 hours to go from south Lebanon to Beirut. We had no water or food on the road. Displaced people in other cars would lend us a water bottle and a loaf of bread.”

They looked for a place to stay in Beirut first, and eventually found a house to rent with some others in Tripoli, North Lebanon. As they had no money, they struggled to find enough food and pay for health care. She now has tinnitus due to the loud Israeli airstrikes and cannot hear well. She saw a doctor, but cannot afford any of the medication prescribed.

A fragile pause is not enough

On September 23, Israeli forces started a series of intensified offensives on Lebanon that led to an exponential escalation in the conflict. The Lebanese government estimated that 1,500,000 individuals were displaced and registered 190,630 internally displaced people (IDPs) across 1,163 shelters. At one point, 991 of them had reached their full capacity. The International Organization for Migration recorded 878,497 displaced (35% children and 34% women).

Oxfam in Lebanon Country Director, Bachir Ayoub recounted how people had been “forced to flee with little to no notice, often having to leave everything behind, to shelters that are inadequate or sharing crowded homes with few essential supplies.”

Despite the ceasefire deal on November 27, repeated bombings and attacks on civilians have continued. OCHA reports that, between 8 October 2023 and 12 December 2024, ongoing attacks have claimed “4,047 lives, including 290 children and 790 women, with 16,638 injured”.

Ayoub notes the uncertainty weighing on displaced families, an uncertainty that persists for many despite the supposed ceasefire. “While news of a ceasefire will bring relief to millions in Lebanon, it is only a fragile pause that will not guarantee an end to the violence. Until then, Israel seems determined to bombard the country.”

“This conditional pause in the hostilities will allow some of the 1.4 million people displaced by this brutal war to start returning to their homes, however hundreds of thousands of people have nowhere to return after Israel razed entire villages. A permanent agreement must be reached so that communities can begin to rebuild their lives.” 

“All parties to this agreement must now work toward a full, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza. After 415 days of violence this deal, although insufficient, may bring an end to the escalation in Lebanon for now, but there can be no true end to this war while Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure relentless Israeli bombardment, deprivation and death.”  

Author

May Achour

May Achour is Senior Media and Communications Officer at Oxfam in Lebanon

Donate to the Oxfam GB Lebanon appeal here.