How Israel’s destruction of south Lebanon is making displacement permanent

More than half a year after Israel escalated attacks on Lebanon, humanitarian groups say displacement is settling into a sustained problem rather than a short-term emergency. International Organization for Migration (IOM) figures show the number of people away from their homes fell from a peak of more than 1.2 million in April to roughly 330,000, but United Nations agencies caution that many movements are reversible and that the reduction does not mean the crisis is resolved.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been ongoing since October 2023, flared again on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah said it was responding to repeated violations of a 2024 ceasefire and to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader. Israel then stepped up air strikes and re-entered southern Lebanon for a second time in under two years; it currently occupies more than 50 villages. Aid agencies say the offensive has killed over 4,380 people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee, chiefly from southern districts but also from the Bekaa Valley, Beirut and its southern suburbs.

While more than 810,000 people have gone back to their homes or nearby areas, many returnees find damaged houses and broken services. In towns along the so-called “Yellow Line,” a military zone about 10km north of the Israel-Lebanon border, residents who returned after a ceasefire are living amid rubble and limited shelter. One resident who moved back to her town is sheltering in a school that now serves as a collective shelter and runs a small makeshift shop at its entrance, saying she could not abandon her community.

UNHCR and other aid workers warn the cycle of displacement and return is ongoing. Many families endure repeated moves as security conditions shift, and prolonged displacement is wearing away financial and social safety nets: savings have largely been exhausted, debts have mounted, and families that have paid rent for months face mounting economic pressure while income sources remain disrupted. IOM data indicate about 80 percent of displaced people are concentrated in five districts — Beirut (around 31%), Sidon (15%), Tyre (14%), Chouf (11%) and Aley (9%) — with about 17,566 registered displaced living in 184 collective sites and roughly 75 percent in rented accommodation.

Humanitarian agencies and local journalists describe extensive destruction across southern towns and border villages. Reporters and aid workers who traveled south report entire villages flattened, with some communities left with hardly any standing walls. After a prior ceasefire brought a temporary return of commerce and daily life in places such as Nabatieh, renewed attacks have shattered infrastructure and economic activity, deepening anxiety among civilians and raising concerns that displacement could become entrenched without significant restoration of security and services.