Fighting has displaced 1.2 million Lebanese who have sought refuge in shelters, or with friends and family, or are sleeping in tents© Ankhar Kochneva/TASS/ZUMA/picture alliance A War That Has Reached the Living Room For many Lebanese families, the crisis is no longer abstract — it is survival. Sukaina Hemadah, a 37-year-old mother of four, now lives in a tent in central Beirut after her home in the southern suburb of Haret Hreik was destroyed by an Israeli air strike. Food is scarce and water arrives by aid deliveries. Sanitation is collapsing: one toilet serves hundreds. Health authorities say more than 1,000 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 injured since the latest round of fighting began. Israel Expands the Battlefield The Israeli military is pushing deeper into southern Lebanon, a traditional Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said all five bridges across the Litani River used by militants had been destroyed. The army intends to control the area up to the river, effectively carving out a buffer zone. Hundreds of thousands of displaced residents, he warned, will not be allowed to return until northern Israel is secure. Hezbollah Signals No Retreat Hezbollah officials say the fight is far from over. Lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that Israeli forces establishing a security belt in the south would represent an “existential threat” to Lebanon. The group, long backed by Iran, insists it will continue attacks until Israeli troops withdraw. The confrontation is rooted in the wider regional war triggered after Israel killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this year — a shock that rippled across Tehran’s network of allied militias. Lebanon’s Government Struggles to Hold Control Lebanon’s fragile state is struggling to assert authority over the conflict. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam say they are working to halt the war. Beirut has even expelled Iran’s ambassador and outlawed Hezbollah’s military activities. But analysts say the government lacks the leverage to rein in a powerful militia that operates largely beyond state control. Anger Builds — But Civil War Still Unlikely The war is fuelling anger among ordinary Lebanese who feel trapped between Israel’s bombs and Hezbollah’s rockets. Some blame the militia outright for dragging the country into a catastrophic conflict. Yet most analysts believe memories of Lebanon’s devastating 1975-1990 civil war still act as a powerful deterrent. The greater risk may lie elsewhere: mass displacement, economic collapse and the possibility that hundreds of thousands of desperate civilians will soon look beyond Lebanon’s borders — including toward Europe — for safety. Lebanon's humanitarian crisis worsens as fighting continues
