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Almost 700,000 Displaced in Lebanon as War Enters Second Week

Smoke plumes rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
Smoke plumes rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
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Almost 700,000 Displaced in Lebanon as War Enters Second Week

Smoke plumes rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
Smoke plumes rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)

Escalating hostilities have forced nearly 700,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon, a UN agency said on Monday, as the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah entered a second week. 

Lebanon has been pulled deep into the war in the Middle East since Hezbollah opened fire to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader, igniting an Israeli offensive which has killed more than 400 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities. 

The toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon rose to 486 people killed and 1,313 wounded since the start of fighting last week, the Lebanese health ministry said Monday. 

"The toll of the Israeli aggression from dawn on Monday, March 2, until Monday afternoon, March 9, has risen to 486 martyrs and 1,313 wounded," the ministry said in a statement. 

Israeli strikes sent columns of smoke billowing from Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, and over the hilltops of southern Lebanon. 

Security sources in Lebanon said Israeli airstrikes hit five branches of a financial institution run by Hezbollah, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, in the southern suburbs after Israel announced it would act against it. 

'CHILDREN ARE BEING KILLED' 

The Israeli military has ordered people out of the southern suburbs, a swathe of south Lebanon, and parts of the eastern Bekaa Valley ‌region - all areas that ‌have served as political and security strongholds of Hezbollah. 

"Mass displacement across Lebanon ‌has forced ⁠nearly 700,000 people – including ⁠around 200,000 children – from their homes, adding to the tens of thousands already uprooted from previous escalations," Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF regional director, said in a statement. 

"Children are being killed and injured at a horrifying rate, families are fleeing their homes in fear, and thousands of children are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters," he said. 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, visiting his military's northern command, said the mass evacuations presented an opportunity "to make this area even safer". 

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that two of its soldiers had ⁠been killed in southern Lebanon, its first fatalities of the conflict. No fatalities have been reported ‌in Israel as a result of Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks. 

Lebanon, with a ‌population of some 6 million, has turned its largest sports venue, the Camille Chamoun Stadium in Beirut, into a displacement center. On Monday, families ‌sifted through boxes of donated clothes, pulling out coats and sweaters to help them bear the cold weather. Tents have gone ‌up across the city. 

"We hope this crisis doesn't last," Naji Hammoud, the director general of Lebanon's sports facilities, told Reuters. 

More than 1 million people were forced to flee their homes in Lebanon during a war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2024. 

ISRAEL UNAWARE OF CLASH REPORTED BY HEZBOLLAH IN EAST 

Hezbollah announced attacks including a rocket salvo targeting the town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, and a rocket attack on a gathering ‌of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in south Lebanon near the village of al-Adaisseh. 

Air raid sirens sounded in Israeli towns and villages near the border on Monday, sending people fleeing ⁠to their shelters. There were no ⁠reports of casualties. 

The Israeli military said it was unaware of any clash with Hezbollah fighters in eastern Lebanon, after the group said it had fought Israeli soldiers approaching from Syria. 

Hezbollah said in a statement its fighters had observed 15 helicopters flying over eastern Lebanon just after midnight, saying they dropped Israeli troops who then approached Lebanese territory. 

Reuters was unable to immediately verify Hezbollah's account. 

The Israeli military carried out an airborne raid in the same area, near the village of Nabi Sheet, overnight into Saturday. Lebanon's Health Ministry said 41 people had been killed in Israeli attacks in the Nabi Sheet area. 

The Israeli military said that weekend raid was an operation to seek the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator missing in Lebanon since 1986, but no findings related to him were recovered. 

On Sunday, an Israeli drone strike hit a hotel in Beirut's seafront Rouche district. The Israeli military said the strike killed five senior commanders of what it described as the Lebanon Corps of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. 

The Israeli military has sent more troops into southern Lebanon since the start of the war, establishing what it described as forward defensive positions to guard against Hezbollah attacks into Israel. 

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Arab World

Jordan Says Air Defenses Intercepted 18 out of 20 Missiles Launched from Iran

Projectiles streak across the sky in this screengrab taken from footage published by Iranian authorities purporting to show missiles launched at US military targets in Jordan from an unknown location, released on August 31, 2026. Wana News Agency via REUTERS
Projectiles streak across the sky in this screengrab taken from footage published by Iranian authorities purporting to show missiles launched at US military targets in Jordan from an unknown location, released on August 31, 2026. Wana News Agency via REUTERS
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Jordan Says Air Defenses Intercepted 18 out of 20 Missiles Launched from Iran

Projectiles streak across the sky in this screengrab taken from footage published by Iranian authorities purporting to show missiles launched at US military targets in Jordan from an unknown location, released on August 31, 2026. Wana News Agency via REUTERS
Projectiles streak across the sky in this screengrab taken from footage published by Iranian authorities purporting to show missiles launched at US military targets in Jordan from an unknown location, released on August 31, 2026. Wana News Agency via REUTERS

The Jordanian Army said in a statement on Wednesday that its air defenses intercepted 18 out of 20 ballistic missiles originating from Iran while two other missiles fell in a remote area confirming that there were no casualties.

The statement quoted the army’s official spokesman as saying that “Jordanian air defense systems had dealt with 20 ballistic missiles launched toward Jordanian territory from Iran. Eighteen of the missiles were successfully intercepted and destroyed, while two fell in areas away from populated areas”, he said, adding that there were no casualties.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard had earlier said that it fired ballistic missiles at a base in Jordan used by the US military and attacked 10 ships on Wednesday, after the US said it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, in a sharp escalation of the six-month-old war.

Iran has also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and ‌Bahraini ports, according to a statement carried by state media.

IRNA quoted a message by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as saying: “In light of the hostile actions being carried out by the terrorist US military, including its targeting of several oil tankers belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran, we warn all crews of oil tankers in the vicinity of the ports of Kuwait and Bahrain, which host these terrorists and participate in their hostile actions, and urge them to leave their vessels immediately, whether they are in waiting areas or at the docks, as they will be subject to attack.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on Sept. 8 after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards twice targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles. The warship evaded the attacks and continued its patrols without any US casualties.

Arab World

Lebanese Contacts with Washington Curb Israeli Escalation in South

Mourners carry pictures of victims killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kafr Rumman in southern Lebanon during their funeral. (AP)
Mourners carry pictures of victims killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kafr Rumman in southern Lebanon during their funeral. (AP)
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Lebanese Contacts with Washington Curb Israeli Escalation in South

Mourners carry pictures of victims killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kafr Rumman in southern Lebanon during their funeral. (AP)
Mourners carry pictures of victims killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kafr Rumman in southern Lebanon during their funeral. (AP)

Intensive contacts between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US officials helped curb Israeli attacks that had escalated since Saturday, as Lebanon awaits Washington’s confirmation of a date for an eighth round of negotiations with Israel, expected to be set this week and held later this month.

Israeli attacks in South Lebanon subsided on Tuesday after three days of airstrikes and artillery shelling that killed at least 28 people, wounded dozens and displaced hundreds from Nabatieh and surrounding villages. Residents began returning on Tuesday morning.

Unlike the heavy strikes on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, no Israeli airstrikes were reported by Tuesday afternoon, although drones flew over Beirut, its southern suburbs and other areas in the south.

Israeli forces carried out a demolition in the town of Mansouri, south of Tyre, while an Israeli unit entered the outskirts of Kfar Shouba overnight and raised an Israeli flag on a hill.

Intensive contacts

Ministerial sources close to the Lebanese presidency told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun had “conducted intensive contacts with the US side to press Israel to halt its military campaign,” adding that US officials had, in turn, contacted Israel.

The contacts included US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, while Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, also held talks with US officials aimed at containing the escalation in the south.

On Monday, Aoun warned that Israel’s attacks “will not bring security to civilians along the border” and were targeting the path of the “framework agreement” and undermining efforts to halt escalation in the south and across the region.

“The question today is: Does Israel want peace or war? If it wants war, let that be made clear,” he added.

Lebanon has little leverage to halt Israeli attacks other than through Washington, which it sees as the only available diplomatic channel capable of pressing Israel to cease fire and halt the growing bulldozing and demolition operations in South Lebanon.

Beirut expects a definitive answer from the US by the end of the week on the eighth negotiating session with Israel. Lebanon’s demands in the talks include a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory and the return of prisoners.

US ambassador visits Shiite council

Issa visited the Higher Islamic Shiite Council on Tuesday and met its vice president, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib.

Sources following the visit described it as part of Issa’s protocol meetings with Lebanon’s religious leaders, including Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian and Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna over the past two weeks. Others pointed to its timing following al-Khatib’s meetings in Iran and Iraq.

After the meeting, Issa stressed that the United States wanted what was best for the Shiite community and for southerners to return to their land.

On Israeli attacks, Issa noted that his understanding from the Israeli side was that any fire directed at Israel would be met with a response 10 times greater.

Asked about prisoners, he replied that he will keep up his efforts until they are released, saying it was his responsibility.

Condemnation

Lebanese Minister of State for Administrative Reform Fadi Makki condemned the Israeli attacks after meeting Aoun, calling for intensified efforts to halt them and protect Lebanon.

He also stressed support for the Lebanese army and the need for all sides to rally around the state and its legitimate institutions to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 people since Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2, two days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran began, prompting an Israeli air and ground offensive against Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports that the dead include more than 250 children, around 400 women and more than 130 paramedics.

A ceasefire sharply reduced the violence, but Israeli forces occupying large parts of South Lebanon have continued destroying villages inside a unilaterally declared “security zone.” The Israeli military also continues to carry out strikes within the zone and north of it, often without issuing evacuation warnings.

Arab World

Tunisian Journalists Protest Over Media Crackdown

Protesters chant against President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia, August 20, 2026, demanding the restoration of democracy and calling for the release of jailed activists and journalists amid a worsening economic and social crisis (Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters)
Protesters chant against President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia, August 20, 2026, demanding the restoration of democracy and calling for the release of jailed activists and journalists amid a worsening economic and social crisis (Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters)
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Tunisian Journalists Protest Over Media Crackdown

Protesters chant against President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia, August 20, 2026, demanding the restoration of democracy and calling for the release of jailed activists and journalists amid a worsening economic and social crisis (Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters)
Protesters chant against President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia, August 20, 2026, demanding the restoration of democracy and calling for the release of jailed activists and journalists amid a worsening economic and social crisis (Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters)

Tunisian journalists protested on Tuesday to demand the release of prominent journalist Mohamed Yousfi, whose arrest has become a new flashpoint amid accusations that President Kais Saied is cracking down on the country's ‌remaining independent voices.

 

The protesters, who also included activists, gathered outside a court where a judge was questioning Yousfi over illicit enrichment and money laundering charges, which critics say were fabricated to punish him for his outspoken journalism.

 

Yousfi, a fierce critic of Saied and the editor-in-chief of investigative news website ⁠Al-Qatiba, was arrested last Friday as he was preparing to enter Express FM Radio to take part in a radio program.

 

His arrest prompted widespread condemnation of Saied’s government, with rights groups saying the case was aimed at increasing a climate of fear among journalists.

 

“The situation is dark and difficult. Journalists who disturb the authorities are facing legal persecution and fabricated charges,” Zied Dabbar, the head of journalists' syndicate SNJT, told Reuters.

 

“Today journalists either end up in exile or in ‌prison... ⁠But we will resist,” he added.

 

Several media figures have been jailed this year, including Zied Heni, Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies, while Khaoula Boukrim was sentenced in absentia in June to four years.

 

Free speech initially flourished following the 2011 uprising that toppled Zine El Abidine ⁠Ben Ali and ignited pro-democracy protests known as the “Arab Spring.”

 

But critics say Saied's accumulation of power in 2021 and decrees he has issued since then have dismantled democratic safeguards ⁠and enabled the authorities to pursue many journalists.

 

The leaders of Tunisia's main opposition parties have been jailed in the last three years, along with dozens of ⁠politicians, activists, journalists and businessmen, on charges of conspiring against state security, of money laundering and corruption.

 

Saied says he will not be a dictator and that freedoms are guaranteed in Tunisia.