Lebanon Prepares Safe Shelters Ahead of Possible Conflict

A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership
A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership
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Lebanon Prepares Safe Shelters Ahead of Possible Conflict

A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership
A ministerial meeting at Lebanon’s Grand Serail: Photo: X account of the premiership

Lebanon's government has completed its emergency plan to handle a possible conflict with Israel and has fully prepared its administrative, health, and logistical agencies.

The plan primarily involves converting public schools into shelters for displaced people and equipping them with necessary supplies.

Israel's military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have traded strikes since the current war in Gaza began, but tensions have escalated since an Israeli strike in a Beirut suburb killed Fouad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander, last month. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate.

In a recent ministerial meeting, Lebanese caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who heads the Emergency and Disaster Response Committee, said the goal was to “ensure the readiness of crisis cells across all provinces and strengthen them if needed.”

Yassin explained that discussions with governors focused on the shelters. A list of these has been created in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, which is working with a taskforce to prepare the schools.

He added that the committee and the Ministry of Education are preparing more schools for emergencies, verifying their readiness and ensuring they have essential supplies.

These shelters will be equipped with bedding, hygiene products, and food. Funding will come from the treasury and support from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other international organizations.

Yassin noted that if displacement reaches levels seen in 2006, with about one million displaced, the committee will need $100 million per month. This funding will be secured through emergency credits and support from international organizations.

The Committee is compiling a list of shelters and evaluating their capacities.

A committee source told Asharq Al-Awsat that shelters are selected based on several criteria: they must be located away from high-risk areas, have enough space and basic facilities, and be easily accessible from regions affected by Israeli airstrikes.

The shelters also need to allow easy entry and exit for relief teams. The source confirmed that all selected shelters meet these requirements.



Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
TT
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Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months.

In a statement, Israel's military did not give the identity of the targeted person. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Lebanese state media said a car had been hit near Tripoli and the health ministry reported two people were killed and three others wounded, without identifying them, Reuters reported.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps that have housed displaced Palestinians for decades.

Since Hamas' cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in 2023, Israel has carried out targeted strikes on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah as well as members of Palestinian factions in Lebanon.

Hamas' deputy chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early 2024, and other strikes hit Palestinian camps in northern Lebanon.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Tuesday's strike near Tripoli was the first time a targeted assassination had taken place in the area since the truce.

Meanwhile, US envoy Thomas Barrack continued a two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Hezbollah and other militant groups.