Security
Hizbullah's war displaces thousands of fleeing civilians
Hizbullah's strikes on Israel force thousands to flee their homes, casting civilians into displacement and toward an uncertain, unwanted fate.
![A mass exodus from the south and Beirut's southern suburbs brings displaced families and crippling traffic to Beirut's seaside. [Nabil Ismail]](/gc1/images/2026/03/09/54954-lebanon_displaced_1-600_384.webp)
By Nohad Topalian |
Displaced families from south Lebanon towns and Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hizbullah stronghold, are once again seen sleeping in Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut.
They fled after Iran-backed Hizbullah fired missiles at Israel on March 1, to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli army demanded residents in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate for military operations targeting Hizbullah.
Displaced families have established makeshift encampments on Beirut's streets, sleeping in parked cars or on the ground without sanitation, water or weather protection.
![Fleeing their homes in trucks and cars, thousands of families from the south face an uncertain future and mounting hardship on the roads of Beirut. [Nabil Ismail]](/gc1/images/2026/03/09/54955-lebanon_displaced_2-600_384.webp)
This scene captures the immense human suffering of thousands who lack shelter, like the Fatima Younes family from Zawtar El Charqiyeh, south Lebanon.
She fled her village for Haret Hreik, in Beirut's southern suburbs, but was displaced again with her three children and elderly mother, she told Al-Fassel.
"We had barely begun to recover from the 2024 war when we were suddenly caught in a new conflict we never wanted," she added.
Suffocating traffic
After hours of suffocating traffic, the Suleiman family, fleeing their home in the Southern town of Tyre, finally found refuge in Beirut's Martyrs' Square.
The family's father, Jaber Suleiman, told Al-Fassel with a heavy heart, "my wife, our five children, and I left after we received an evacuation notice."
"We fled with nothing but the clothes we wore, leaving our lives behind to face a future imposed on us by Iran's proxy, Hizbullah. The pain and scars from previous conflicts are still fresh," he added.
The tragic scene of displaced people clearly encapsulates Hizbullah's recklessness and utter disregard for innocent civilian lives.
Lebanese people reject war
Serving the Iranian regime's interests, Hizbullah endangers civilians, causing displacement and loss, ignoring the Lebanese people's rejection of war.
Hizbullah's missile launches plunged Lebanon into open war, forcing residents of South, Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs to flee and endure suffering.
This resulted in tens of thousands of families fleeing in trucks and cars, creating suffocating traffic congestion on the highways.
Displaced people face homelessness in Beirut and safe areas, while Hizbullah ignores the crisis and disregards the interests of the Lebanese people.
Responding to the displacement crisis, the Lebanese government has activated the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Unit to coordinate emergency responses and manage regional shelters.
Lebanon's social affairs minister Haneen Sayed announced that 454,000 people have been registered as displaced since the outbreak of the new war.
This total includes 112,525 individuals who are registered in government shelters, she said in a press briefing, on March 7.
The mass displacement sweeping Lebanon stands as a stark indictment of Hizbullah’s decisions and the heavy burden they continue to impose on the Lebanese people.