“I hope we can return to our houses; if there are houses to go back to,” says Alia*, who is displaced in Barja, Mount Lebanon.

Lebanon is currently experiencing the most significant escalation of conflict since the 2006 Lebanon War. Close to 1,300 people have been killed over a span of 16 days, between 16 September and 1 October, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. The intense Israeli bombardments have forced more than one million people to flee their homes, according to national authorities. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has scaled up an emergency response and mobilised teams across the country to provide urgent medical and mental health support to people who have been displaced.

In the early hours of Monday 23 September, the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation, targeting dozens of towns across Lebanon’s governorates, including South Lebanon, Nabatieh, Baalbek-Hermel, and the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut. More bombardment on 27 September led to mass displacement from these areas, as well as parts of Mount Lebanon, as residents sought safety elsewhere.

The intense bombardments have forced many people to flee multiple times, including since clashes began in October 2023. People often leave with little time to gather essential items.