As the Mideast holds its breath for larger war, Lebanon’s displaced fear a bleak future

YOHMOR/TYRE, Lebanon -

Displaced in south Lebanon five times, Kamel Mroue and his wife Mariam are anxious about their next move as they follow the news of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing border hostilities will turn into all-out war.

The parents of three children, who live abroad, have been back and fourth between their village of Yohmor, just kilometers away from the frontier, and friends elsewhere around Lebanon.

“The future is dim,” said Mroue, an academic.

The conflict has displaced more than 100,000 people in southern Lebanon, according to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.

Israel and the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and ignited the war in Gaza, which shows no signs of easing.

Now in its tenth month, the conflict has spread to Lebanon where Israel has inflicted devastation in previous conflicts with Hezbollah.

Past devastation

The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Israeli bombardment pounded Hezbollah-controlled south Lebanon and destroyed wide areas of its stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Most of the fighting over the last 10 months has erupted on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Israel has ratcheted up tensions with assassinations of senior Hezbollah figures.

Hezbollah's response to Israeli attacks will be strong and effective, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the powerful Lebanese militant group, said earlier this month.

He was speaking in an address marking the one-week memorial of the group's top military commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Iran and Hezbollah have also threatened to avenge the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, widely blamed on Israel. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lebanon's state, hollowed out by a five-year economic crisis left to fester by ruling elites, had struggled to provide basic services even before the current conflict began. The economic crisis and border conflict have taken a heavy toll.

“It all affects you - your psychological state is affected to the point that I have started taking medicine to calm my nerves,” said Mariam.

While Israel houses its displaced in government-funded accommodation, Lebanon relies on ill-equipped public schools or informal arrangements, such as staying with family or friends.

Wafaa Youssef Al-Darwish sought refuge with family. Originally from the village of Dhraya near the Israeli border, she fled to stay with her sister in Tyre, a southern city that has itself been targeted by air strikes during the conflict.

“We were at our village, working normally and a war was imposed on us,” said Darwish, who used to work in agriculture, producing and selling cans of olive oil. The war deprived Lebanese of homes, neighborhoods, and sustenance, she explained.

“It's a great tragedy."

(Writing by Catherine Cartier; editing by Michael Georgy and Sharon Singleton)