As the country strives to rebuild, thousands remain homeless, and the Israeli military presence in certain areas prevents many displaced people from returning. Simultaneously, a new influx of refugees from Syria requires humanitarian assistance. INTERSOS continues to stand by the population in this reconstruction phase, supporting people in rebuilding their lives.
Over the past two months, the Lebanese population has begun to envision a future beyond the rubble. The two-month ceasefire agreement reached with Israel on November 28th halted the war that had been ongoing since October 2023. In January, after nearly two years of political vacuum, the country managed to elect a President, offering hope for a future of unity and reconstruction.
However, 14 months of war destroyed homes, and critical civilian infrastructure, and disrupted essential services. Immediately following the ceasefire, most of those who had fled to safer areas in the preceding months began to return to their homes, more or less damaged by bombs. According to IOM, as of January 8th, 2025, approximately 870,000 displaced people in Lebanon had returned to their areas of origin. Some were lucky enough to return home immediately, while others had to rebuild their homes but could rely on the hospitality of family members, and still others remained in Beirut waiting for their homes to be repaired. However, some cannot return home because they used to live in areas still occupied by the Israeli armed forces. Since the end of November, Israeli soldiers have withdrawn from various areas, including strategic ones, but several villages within a 2-5 km radius of the border still see an Israeli armed presence, preventing many from returning. As Israeli forces leave the occupied territories, they also leave behind new destruction, including homes and civilian infrastructure, further impeding the return of local communities even after their withdrawal. Different violations happened since the ceasefire, which remains fragile, and 42 people have been killed since the beginning of the ceasefire. Currently, over 115,000 people remain displaced within the country.
Along the opposite border, following recent political upheavals in Syria, many people are moving through the official and unofficial border crossings between Syria and Lebanon. UNHCR reports around 1,000-1,500 crossings per day at official border crossings, while those occurring at unofficial crossings are difficult to verify. As of January 7th, approximately 87,000 people – including 20,000 Lebanese – have moved from Syria to Lebanon, in the Bekaa region which, like the south of the country, has been severely affected by the war. Most of these people have found hospitality with other community members, while around 35,000 people, almost all Syrians, live in informal collective shelters, many of which are overcrowded and have problems with heating, access to water, and sanitation. To address these needs, INTERSOS teams have carried out several emergency distributions to people arriving from Syria, many of whom are women and children.
INTERSOS has remained alongside the population throughout all phases of the crisis, recalibrating its activities to respond promptly to the needs of the population. Even in this reconstruction phase, our teams in the South and Bekaa are working to undertake maintenance of homes and infrastructure damaged by the fighting, to facilitate the return home of displaced people, and the functioning of essential infrastructure, such as the Machghara water pumping station, which provides clean water to approximately 18,000 people and urgently needs to be rehabilitated following the severe damage caused by air strikes. Interventions like this are essential to improve the living conditions and health of residents.