Title: “Lebanon’s Displaced Population Faces Emergency as Aid Lags Behind”

As the conflict in Lebanon rages on, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) regional director, Othman Belbeisi, has lashed out at the “minimal” support provided to the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the Israeli aerial and ground offensive. Belbeisi was speaking during his visit to Lebanon, where he emphasized the urgent need to identify safe locations to accommodate displaced people, as many existing shelters are overwhelmed, according to his field assessments.

The Lebanese government has reported that some 1.2 million people have been displaced, with the IOM having verified 690,000 cases, a number that is expected to grow. While hundreds of thousands of displaced people have fled across the border into neighboring Syria, Belbeisi noted that the organization has not tracked a major surge in the number of people attempting to flee to other countries by sea, likely due to the high risk associated with the current situation.

In a dramatic turn of events, on Friday morning, two Israeli strikes hit the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens. The air raid was the deadliest attack on central Beirut in over a year of war, striking two residential buildings in neighborhoods that have been swarming with displaced people fleeing Israeli bombardment elsewhere in the country.

The strikes were said to have targeted Wafiq Safa, a top security official with Hezbollah, according to reports from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television and Israeli media. However, Al-Manar claimed Safa was not in either building at the time of the attacks. The Israeli military remained silent on the reports.

As the conflict escalates, with Israel escalating its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion at the border, the need for aid and support for the displaced population has become increasingly urgent.