BEIRUT – Nearly 100,000 Lebanese residents have sought refuge in emergency shelters following extensive Israeli military evacuation orders that a top United Nations official described as unprecedented in their scope, according to a Friday report.
The Israeli military issued evacuation directives on Thursday targeting residents of southern Beirut neighborhoods, including areas under control of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization, along with sections of the eastern Bekaa Valley. These orders came one day after similar warnings were issued for large areas of southern Lebanon, as fighting continues between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants.
Imran Riza, who serves as the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, described the situation to Reuters as extraordinary in its magnitude.
“What we saw in the last couple of days is, I would say … unprecedented in terms of the scale here in Lebanon of the warnings, the displacement orders, and the reaction, the panic also, that this has all created,” Riza explained.
According to Riza’s Friday morning assessment, the displaced population has filled 477 emergency shelters across the country, with only 57 facilities still having available space.
“At the moment, there are about 100,000 people that are, as of this morning, in some 477 collective shelters. There are some 57 shelters that still have some space, but basically the capacity is being reached very, very quickly,” he stated.
The evacuation orders have triggered chaos and traffic jams as residents scramble to find safe locations, Riza observed.
“We had people moving all over the place and not knowing where to go to. So yes, I think we’re going to have an increased number quite quickly,” he said.
Riza referenced the 2024 conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, which displaced over one million Lebanese residents, with 75-80% finding accommodation outside official shelter facilities.
“This time again, the majority will not be in shelters probably,” he predicted.
