A year after Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, over 64,000 Lebanese displaced

Beirut, Lebanon – Before Israel’s warfare connected Lebanon, Ali (full sanction withheld for information reasons) lived successful Haddatha, a colony successful the Bint Jbeil territory successful the south, astir 12km (7.5 miles) from the borderline with Israel, surrounded by quality wherever agriculture was intrinsic to life.

Then came Israel’s “hellfire”.

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At slightest 9 radical were killed and immoderate 3,000 injured, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, when thousands of pagers exploded, astir simultaneously, overwhelming hospitals connected September 17, 2024.

Six days later, Israel escalated its attacks crossed the south, sidesplitting astir 600 people, successful what was the country’s deadliest day since the country’s ruinous civilian warfare ended successful 1990, and displacing much than 1 cardinal people.

“Our location was destroyed,” helium told Al Jazeera. Ali took refuge successful a municipality astir 20km (12.5 miles) northbound of Haddatha, called Burj Qalaway.

But much than a twelvemonth later, helium is yet to instrumentality location contempt a ceasefire. He is 1 of tens of thousands who are inactive displaced from their homes astir Lebanon and who accidental that what small they person received successful enactment from the Lebanese authorities oregon Hezbollah is not capable to rebuild their lives oregon homes destroyed during the war.

South ‘not safe’

On November 27, 2024, a ceasefire came into effect betwixt Hezbollah and Israel. The statement brought to an extremity much than a twelvemonth of cross-border attacks and a two-month-long Israeli intensification that killed thousands successful Lebanon, mostly civilians, and devastated civilian infrastructure.

Under the ceasefire, cross-border attacks were expected to stop, Hezbollah was to retreat northbound of the Litani River, which runs crossed southbound Lebanon, and Israel was to retreat troops that had invaded southbound Lebanon successful October.

Israel, however, ne'er stopped attacking. Its service inactive occupies 5 points successful confederate Lebanon, and during the ceasefire, it razed respective villages to the ground.

An estimated 1.2 cardinal people, much than a 4th of the Lebanese population, had been displaced during the war. On the greeting of November 27, hundreds of thousands of radical streamed southbound to their villages to return home. But tens of thousands much person been near down and are inactive incapable to spell home.

“The southbound is not safe,” Ali said. “I americium acrophobic that I mightiness beryllium walking determination and a raid volition onslaught a car adjacent to me.”

Israeli attacks proceed crossed the southbound and the Bekaa Valley successful the eastbound connected a near-daily basis, with the Lebanese authorities counting much than 2,000 Israeli violations of the 2024 ceasefire woody successful the past 3 months of 2025.

Ali is not alone. The International Organization for Migration estimates that much than 64,000 radical are inactive internally displaced successful Lebanon, according to figures compiled successful October 2025.

Entire villages ‘razed’

Some of the 64,000 cannot instrumentality to their homes on the borderline portion with Israel. Israeli soldiers inactive clasp 5 points connected Lebanese territory, managing ample swaths of southbound Lebanon done unit and technology: utilizing drones, aerial raids, shelling oregon gunfire. Since the ceasefire, Israel has killed much than 330 radical successful Lebanon, including astatine slightest 127 civilians.

Melina*, from Odaisseh, a colony connected the confederate border, lived astir of her beingness successful Nabatieh. During the war, she was displaced to Sidon, a confederate metropolis astir 44km (27 miles) southbound of Beirut.

“I haven’t been capable to sojourn my village,” she told Al Jazeera. “Psychologically, I can’t carnivore to spot our house, which was wholly destroyed, and the full colony was razed to the ground.”

“The information concern remains highly dangerous,” she said. “You could beryllium changeable astatine by the Israeli broadside astatine immoderate moment, and it’s unsafe to question without a Lebanese service escort.”

Ali runs a marketplace successful Burj Qalaway, but helium says the income is not capable to rebuild his home. There are besides different concerns. Israel has attacked reconstruction instrumentality successful confederate Lebanon, drafting disapproval from quality rights groups.

“Amid the ceasefire, Israeli forces person carried retired attacks that unlawfully people reconstruction-related instrumentality and facilities,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher astatine Human Rights Watch, said successful a December 2025 report. “After reducing galore of Lebanon’s confederate borderline towns to rubble, the Israeli subject is present making it overmuch much hard for tens of thousands of residents to rebuild their destroyed homes and instrumentality to their towns.”

Some Lebanese besides fear a renewed Israeli violative akin to the 1 successful 2024.

‘Couldn’t spot 2cm successful beforehand of me’

On July 30, 2024, astatine astir 7:40pm, Ramez* was sitting successful his chamber astatine location successful Haret Hreik, a neighbourhood successful Beirut’s confederate suburbs referred to locally arsenic Dahiyeh, an country often targeted successful the past by Israel for the Hezbollah beingness there.

His cats were roaming astir the room, and helium was engaged connected his telephone erstwhile helium heard large explosions.

The warfare had been raging successful the south, but attacks connected Beirut and its suburbs were not yet arsenic common. “I heard much than 9 bangs,” Ramez said. He ran retired of his chamber to assistance his household evacuate. He near his doorway open, helium said, truthful his cats could escape. While telling his parent to drawback her things, helium heard the loudest bang.

“The full neighbouring gathering conscionable collapsed and fell connected us,” helium said. Israel had conscionable levelled the gathering adjacent to his, sidesplitting Fuad Shukr, a apical Hezbollah commander.

“I couldn’t spot 2cm successful beforehand of maine due to the fact that of the fog and the dust.”

Left: The gathering adjacent to RK’s location was destroyed, causing it to autumn onto his building, damaging the apartment.
Right: Ramez’s sister’s car was destroyed successful the onslaught connected his location successful July 2024 [Courtesy of Ramez*]

Ramez’s household escaped unscathed, though their location was severely damaged and his sister’s car was destroyed. His cats besides survived. He recovered them the adjacent day.

“I ever wondered however radical conscionable spell done thing similar this and conscionable determination on, saying, OK, Alhamdulillah, everyone is alive,” helium says, though, “at that constituent I benignant of understood it”.

Since the extremity of the war, helium has been capable to instrumentality to his household location successful Haret Hreik. But his household had to wage for astir of the reconstruction themselves, with small assistance from the authorities oregon immoderate group.

They registered with the authorities for assistance but said they received lone a one-time outgo of 30 cardinal Lebanese pounds (a small much than $330).

Hezbollah besides sent engineers to measure the damage. In December 2024, the Reuters quality bureau reported that Hezbollah would wage astir $77m and rent to families affected by war. Some locals said payments from the radical helped a bit, but others said it had stopped paying nonmembers oregon tried to undervalue their losses.

“They were precise stingy with payments,” Ramez said. “They tried to marque america judge debased payments, but my ma stood her crushed and said it is enough.”

Other radical who were displaced by the warfare told Al Jazeera that the assistance provided by the authorities and Hezbollah was precise limited.

War is ‘most terrible’

Reports are mixed implicit Hezbollah’s fiscal capability, and it is hard to find however severely they person been deed financially aft the group’s governmental and subject enactment was devastated by 2024’s warfare and suffered respective Israeli assassinations, including their longtime charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime successful Syria besides dealt Hezbollah a superior blow, disrupting the onshore way to its main benefactor, Iran – itself present reeling from deadly protests and bracing for a imaginable US attack. The radical is nether immense unit from the Lebanese authorities to disarm, with the United States and Israel applying pressure.

Further compounding the situation is the information that Lebanon is present astir 7 years into 1 of the worst economical crises successful much than 150 years, according to the World Bank. This has deed locals hard, with galore having their slope accounts frozen and the currency devaluing by much than 90 percent.

This has near galore of the displaced feeling abandoned and unsure of however to continue.

There were convulsive Israeli aerial raids successful the southbound connected Saturday, which continued connected Sunday. In the meantime, radical similar Ali person to proceed figuring retired ways to past arsenic their displacement carries connected good past the one-year mark.

“We emotion life, but the concern is not good. Wars interruption your back,” Ali said. “War is the astir unspeakable happening successful the world.”

*Real names withheld for information reasons.

Joao Sousa contributed to this report.