Lebanon: Over 500,000 Displaced by IDF Strikes Since Monday — 117,000 in Government Shelters

Lebanon's Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed confirmed at a press briefing that over half a million people had been registered as displaced since the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on Monday — the day after the Iran war began. The total of 517,000 registered displaced includes 117,228 people in government shelters, with the remainder having relocated to relatives or other accommodation. The actual number of displaced is likely higher, as registration captures only those who have formally registered through the ministry's website. The 517,000 figure represents the largest civilian displacement in Lebanon since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, which displaced approximately one million people over 33 days. The current displacement has occurred in under a week. The IDF's Litani River evacuation order — issued on Day 7 — ordered all civilians south of the Litani to move north, directly driving much of the displacement. Over 420,000 had complied with that order alone. Lebanon's infrastructure, already severely weakened by years of economic crisis, political paralysis, and the 2020 Beirut port explosion, is under extreme pressure from the humanitarian burden. The government shelter system — funded by an international aid architecture — is being pushed beyond capacity.