Lebanon crisis: Families forced to flee again
Nearly 800,000 people in Lebanon have fled their homes as violence surges across the country due to conflict with Israel. Most families now fleeing never recovered from the 2023–2024 war and economic crisis. For many, it’s the second or even the third time they’ve been forced to abandon everything in search of safety.
The stress of not knowing what comes next is something many families like mine are living with every day.
Laila, Team Member in Lebanon
“It is the second time in two years my family has been displaced,” said Laila, a Mercy Corps team member in Lebanon. “The security situation remains fragile, prices keep rising, and my children’s school has been interrupted again. The stress of not knowing what comes next is something many families like mine are living with every day.”
As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, the humanitarian situation in Lebanon and across the region is quickly deteriorating. Find out what’s happening and how you can help.
What’s happening in Lebanon
At least 570 people have been killed and 1,444 injured, underscoring the heavy toll on civilians. Approximately 16% of those displaced, more than 122,600, are currently staying in 580 collective shelters, while many others are sleeping in cars or temporary spaces due to limited safe accommodation.
Cold winter nights, overcrowded shelters, and limited access to food and essential supplies are creating a severe humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, compounded by rising prices, inflation, and potential supply disruptions amid the ongoing economic collapse.
Without new funding and access for aid groups to support innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, the suffering will spiral further.
Elie Yaacoub, Team Member in Lebanon
“Lebanon is on the brink of another humanitarian emergency of staggering scale. Families are fleeing in large numbers by the hour. Shelters are nearly full. Essential services are strained, and key infrastructure is buckling,” said Elie Yaacoub, Team Leader for Mercy Corps’ Crisis Analysis Unit in Lebanon.
“We anticipate significant displacement and humanitarian needs not just in Lebanon, but across the region at a time when global aid budgets are being cut. Without new funding and access for aid groups to support innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, the suffering will spiral further.”
Deepening crisis across the Middle East
Across the Middle East, conflict is colliding with already fragile systems. When people are forced to flee today, they are escaping to places that were already struggling to cope.
While displacement rises in Lebanon, returning families in Syria also face devastated services and few economic opportunities. In Gaza, any disruption to border crossings quickly pushes families deeper into hunger and disease.
Without civilian protection and sustained access and funding for aid, this crisis could quickly grow into a much larger humanitarian emergency across the region.
Supporting communities in Lebanon
From the first days of the escalation, Mercy Corps has been delivering hot meals, ready-to-eat food parcels, mattresses, blankets, and other essential relief items to displaced families in Baalbek, the Bekaa Valley, Beirut, and Mount Lebanon.
Mercy Corps is partnering with a local organization in southern Lebanon to provide 39,000 hot meals over the coming month. For families who fled with little more than the clothes they were wearing, it is often the first proper meal they have had in days.
Our teams are positioned to respond as needs expand. In Lebanon, Mercy Corps and local partners are already supporting displaced families, and we remain ready to scale our response across the region as conditions evolve.
