Authorities in the Druze-majority city of Aley are screening thousands of war refugees arriving from southern Lebanon, fearing the presence of militants could trigger Israeli air strikes on the mountain town.

The city, perched on Mount Lebanon about 20km from Beirut, has become a refuge for civilians fleeing the expanding conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Local officials are now demanding identity documents from every arriving family in a bid to reassure residents and prevent militants from slipping in among the displaced.

“Your name? Phone number? City of origin?” asks municipal official Akram Abu Fakhr as he records details from refugees arriving daily. Around 50 to 70 people register each day as families continue to pour into the city.

Security fears shape humanitarian response

More than 6,000 displaced civilians have already arrived in Aley, according to local authorities. Across Lebanon, officials say more than one million people have been uprooted since early March as the war intensifies.

The fear driving the screening process is simple: if Israeli intelligence believes Hezbollah fighters are hiding among civilians, entire neighbourhoods could become targets.

Recent Israeli strikes have already expanded beyond Hezbollah strongholds, hitting residential districts in Beirut such as Aisha Bakkar and Raouche. Israeli officials say the attacks targeted operatives linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

That escalation has made some Lebanese communities wary of accepting refugees from the south.

Displacement and suspicion

Aley’s authorities have created a hotline allowing residents to report unfamiliar newcomers, with around 70 police officers monitoring the city around the clock.

“We verify every report immediately,” said local security official Fady Chehayeb, insisting the system is designed to reassure residents while protecting displaced families.

For many refugees, survival now depends on balancing safety with suspicion.

Mohammed, a father of six who fled a border village, says the fear is understandable. But after weeks of bombardment, his priority is simple.

“I understand they want security,” he said. “But the most important thing is that my children are safe — and that one day we can return home.”

Fearing Israeli strikes, a Druze village screens for Hezbollah militants among Lebanon’s displaced

Inside Iran’s quiet rebuild of Hezbollah before the latest war with Israel

After Israel’s devastating 2024 offensive decapitated Hezbollah’s leadership, Iran moved swiftly to rebuild its most powerful regional ally. Behind the scenes, officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stepped in to restore the group’s shattered command structure and prepare it for another confrontation with Israel.

Sources familiar with the effort say the intervention was unusually direct — a sign of how crucial Hezbollah remains to Tehran’s regional strategy.

After Nasrallah’s Death, Tehran Steps In

The turning point came after Israel’s campaign killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah along with senior commanders and thousands of fighters.

According to multiple sources, Iranian officers arrived soon after a ceasefire in late 2024 and began a sweeping overhaul of the group’s military wing. Roughly 100 IRGC officers reportedly helped retrain fighters, refill weapons stockpiles and rebuild a command structure that Israeli intelligence had heavily penetrated.

The intervention marked one of the most hands-on Iranian roles in Hezbollah’s history.

A New Structure Built for Survival

Iranian advisers reportedly dismantled Hezbollah’s traditional top-down hierarchy and replaced it with a decentralised network of smaller operational cells.

The goal: prevent the kind of intelligence breaches that allowed Israel to target senior commanders during the 2024 war. Analysts say the redesigned structure resembles Hezbollah’s early underground model from the 1980s — smaller units with limited knowledge of each other’s operations.

Security expert Andreas Krieg of King's College London describes the approach as a “mosaic defence” strategy designed to keep the organisation functioning even under heavy attack.

Missiles Return to the Battlefield

The rebuilt force has already been tested.

Since entering the current regional war earlier this month, Hezbollah has fired hundreds of missiles into Israel, triggering Israeli ground and air operations in southern Lebanon. The conflict has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, according to regional officials.

Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say Hezbollah is attempting to rearm rapidly with Iranian help despite years of Israeli strikes.

A Shadow War Expands Across Borders

Iran’s role has not been without risk.

Lebanese officials say dozens of Iranian nationals with links to the Revolutionary Guards were asked to leave the country earlier this year as Beirut tried to limit Tehran’s influence. Some reportedly departed Beirut on flights in early March.

Even so, Israeli strikes have continued to target suspected Iranian operatives. Several IRGC members have been killed in Lebanon since the latest round of fighting began — evidence that the shadow war between Iran and Israel is increasingly being fought in the open.

How Iran's Revolutionary Guards helped Hezbollah prepare for its latest war with Israel

Meanwhile the Israelis commit potential war crimes in Lebanon, again.