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Displaced Southern Lebanese Fear Second Relocation: Struggling Far from Home

A building destroyed by Israeli bombing in the border town of Khiam (EPA)
A building destroyed by Israeli bombing in the border town of Khiam (EPA)
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Displaced Southern Lebanese Fear Second Relocation: Struggling Far from Home

A building destroyed by Israeli bombing in the border town of Khiam (EPA)
A building destroyed by Israeli bombing in the border town of Khiam (EPA)

Despite being displaced for ten months, southern Lebanese residents, who fled the war with Israel, are still struggling to adapt to their new lives.

They continue to hope for a return to their homes while fearing the possibility of being displaced again due to the ongoing conflict.

While they are managing as best they can, there is a deep sense of loss over their damaged or destroyed homes and livelihoods.

Some are waiting for the opportunity to return, but others, like Ali Ghandoor, have started over elsewhere.

Ghandoor moved from the border town of Khiam to Nabatieh, where he opened a new restaurant similar to his old one.

“We stayed in Khiam for a month and a half after the war began on October 7, then moved to Zahle for two months. Realizing the war might last longer, I decided to start fresh in Nabatieh,” Ghandoor told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“I rented a place, moved some equipment, and bought new supplies. It’s a risky move, but waiting indefinitely isn’t an option.”

He added that returning to Khiam immediately after the war ends isn’t feasible and predicted it will take at least two years to rebuild.

“We’ll likely stay in Nabatieh and hope we won’t have to move again if the war worsens.”

Moreover, Ghandoor and his family are struggling to adjust to their new life.

“We’ve been hit hard emotionally, mentally, and financially,” he admitted.

“The income from this new restaurant is much lower than what I had in Khiam, but at least it provides for us,” he explained.

As the new school year approaches, Ghandoor hopes to enroll his children in a local school after a difficult year with online classes.

Like Ghandoor, Umm Suleiman and George are waiting for the war to end. Umm Suleiman moved from Yaroun, a border town, to Babilieh in the Sidon district.

George fled from Dibbail to Metn; both towns are in the Bint Jbeil district.

Umm Suleiman lives in Babilieh with her husband, daughter, and son-in-law, staying in a friend’s house for free.

George and his family, along with his two sisters, are staying in their brother’s house in Dekwaneh, Metn, while he is in Germany. Both families are trying to adjust, hoping to return home soon.

“We left our home after October 7, when the bombing got worse. We didn’t think the war would drag on this long. It’s affecting our health—we feel sick and tired all the time. But we’re hopeful and determined to return home soon. We won’t let the Israelis force us out of our land,” Umm Suleiman told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Being displaced has also separated Umm Suleiman from her family, with each member moving to different places.

“I’m far from my family and only see them occasionally now. We used to live together in the same town,” she said.

Moreover, she worries about having to move again if the war expands and is concerned about rising rental prices.

“During the 2006 war, we went to Syria, but that’s not possible now. We just want to get back home as soon as we can,” said Umm Suleiman.

George, from Dibbail, feels somewhat safe in Dekwaneh, where he’s staying, believing it’s less likely to be targeted if the war worsens. Still, he finds it hard to adjust after living in the south.

“We’re fortunate to have moved into our brother’s house, and I’m teaching online like my children. But my sister, who’s also a teacher, couldn’t handle the displacement and went back to Dibbail about a month ago,” said George.

“We know our situation is better than many, but we’re all waiting for the war to end so we can return home. We’re tired of being displaced and can’t take much more,” he added.

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Lebanese Whose Homes Were Destroyed in the War Want to Rebuild. Many Face a Long Wait

FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
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Lebanese Whose Homes Were Destroyed in the War Want to Rebuild. Many Face a Long Wait

FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Six weeks into a ceasefire that halted the war between Israel and Hezbollah, many displaced Lebanese whose homes were destroyed in the fighting want to rebuild — but reconstruction and compensation are slow in coming, The Associated Press reported.
Large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, lie in ruins, tens of thousands of houses reduced to rubble in Israeli airstrikes. The World Bank estimated in a report in November — before the ceasefire later that month — that losses to Lebanon's infrastructure amount to some $3.4 billion.
In the south, residents of dozens of villages along the Lebanon-Israel border can't go back because Israeli soldiers are still there. Under the US-negotiated ceasefire deal, Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw by Jan. 26 but there are doubts they will.
Other terms of the deal are also uncertain — after Hezbollah's withdrawal, the Lebanese army is to step in and dismantle the militants' combat positions in the south. Israeli officials have complained the Lebanese troops are not moving in fast enough — to which they say the Israeli troops need to get out first.
Reconstruction prospects — and who will foot the bill — remain unclear.
In 2006, after the monthlong Israel-Hezbollah war, Hezbollah financed much of the $2.8 billion reconstruction with ally Iran's support.
The Lebanese militant group has said it would do so again and has begun making some payments. But Hezbollah, which is also a powerful political party, has suffered significant losses in this latest war and for its part, Iran is now mired in a crippling economic crisis.
The cash-strapped and long paralyzed Lebanese government is in little position to help and international donors may be stretched by the post-war needs in the Gaza Strip and neighboring Syria.
Many Lebanese say they are waiting for Hezbollah's promised compensation. Others say they received some money from the group — much less than the cost of the damage to their homes.
Manal, a 53-year-old mother of four from the southern village of Marjayoun has been displaced with her family for over a year, since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza.
Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in southern Lebanon. In July, Manal's family heard that their home was destroyed. The family has now sought compensation from Hezbollah.
“We haven’t received any money yet,” said Manal, giving only her first name for fear of reprisals. “Maybe our turn hasn’t arrived."
On a recent day in southern Beirut, where airstrikes had hit just 100 meters (yards) away from his home, Mohammad watched as an excavator cleared debris, dust swirling in the air.
He said his father went to Hezbollah officials and got $2,500 — not enough to cover $4,000 worth of damage to their home.
“Dad took the money and left, thinking it was pointless to argue,” said Mohammad, who also gave only his first name for fear of repercussions. He said his uncle was offered only $194 for a similarly damaged home.
When the uncle complained, Mohammad said, Hezbollah asked him, “We sacrificed our blood, what did you do in the war?”
Others, however, say Hezbollah has compensated them fairly.
Abdallah Skaiki, whose home — also in southern Beirut — was completely destroyed, said he received $14,000 from Qard Al-Hasan, a Hezbollah-linked microfinance institution.
Hussein Khaireddine, director of Jihad Binaa, the construction arm of Hezbollah, said the group is doing as much as it can. Its teams have surveyed over 80% of damaged houses across Lebanon, he said.
“We have begun compensating families,” he said. “We have also started providing payments for a year’s rent and compensations for furniture.”
Khaireddin said their payments include $8,000 for furniture and $6,000 for a year’s rent for those living in Beirut. Those who are staying elsewhere get $4,000 in money for rent.
Blueprints for each house are being prepared, he said, declining to elaborate on reconstruction plans.
“We are not waiting for the government," he added. “But of course, we urge the state to act."
There is little the government can do.
The World Bank's report from mid-November said Lebanon's infrastructure and economic losses from the war amount to $8.5 billion. And that estimate doesn't take into account the last month of the war, Deputy Prime Minister Saadi Chami told The Associated Press.
“The government does not have the financial resources for reconstruction,” he said bluntly.
The World Bank said 99,209 housing units were damaged — and 18% of them were completely destroyed. In southern Beirut suburbs alone, satellite analysis by Lebanon’s National Center for Natural Hazards and Early Warning identified 353 buildings completely destroyed and over 6,000 homes damaged.
Lebanese officials have appealed to the international community for funding. The government is working with the World Bank to get an updated damage assessment and hopes to set up a multi-donor trust fund.
The World Bank is also exploring an “emergency project for Lebanon,” focused on targeted assistance for areas most in need, Chami said, though no concrete plan has yet emerged.
“If the World Bank gets involved, it will hopefully encourage the international community to donate money,” Chami said.
Ali Daamoush, a Hezbollah official, said earlier this month that the group has mobilized 145 reconstruction teams, which include 1,250 engineers, 300 data analysts and hundreds of auditors — many apparently volunteers.
The compensations paid so far have come from “the Iranian people,” Daamoush said, without specifying if the money was from Iran's government or private donors.
Jana, a 29-year-old architect, is volunteering with Hezbollah teams to survey the damage to her hometown of Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon. Much of the city is destroyed, including an Ottoman-era market. Her father’s warehouse was hit by airstrikes, and all the medical supplies stored there were consumed by a fire.
Hezbollah officials "told us not to promise people or discuss reconstruction because there is no clear plan or funding for it yet,” she told the AP. She did not give her last name because she wasn't authorized to talk about Hezbollah's actions.