The mass exodus that has followed Israel’s attacks is threatening to overwhelm Lebanon, says Social Minister Haneen Sayed. Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” in Beirut, she warned that the system is being pushed to its limits and that no country could cope when 20 % of its population is forced to move.
In addition to ongoing bombardments, Israel keeps issuing evacuation orders for particular districts in Lebanon. “Every warning triggers another wave of displacement” Sayed added.
Official Lebanese figures now show that more than one million people have fled – roughly a fifth of the nation’s population. The conflict is striking a country already shaken by crisis. “The war could not have come at a worse time for us” she said. The economic turmoil remains intense, while international aid has fallen sharply. Donor states, especially those in the Gulf, face their own troubles. “We are grateful for the help, but it is far from enough – and nobody knows how long the conflict will last” Sayed noted.
Sayed also condemned Israel’s threat to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. “A second occupation of our territory would be disastrous for Lebanon” she warned, stressing that the government is doing everything to prevent it. Ultimately, she said, many elements hinge on the outcome of the broader war involving Israel, the United States, and Iran-a conflict in which Lebanon is unfortunately drawn in.
