Returning to Unsafe Homes in war-torn South Lebanon

When the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced on 27 November, 2024, people in Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon, rushed back to their homes. Many found their houses either reduced to rubble, severely destroyed, or barely standing. 

Nabatieh was one of the hardest-hit areas during Israel’s airstrikes. For 23-year-old Malaka Abdallah, life feels like it’s starting over from scratch.

“I work as a cashier in the mornings and teach math in the afternoons. This war has brought me back to square one. The savings I had for emergencies are completely gone,” Malaka told FairPlanet. She and her sister had fled Nabatieh on September 23 when the fighting escalated.

The ceasefire has provided some relief for Lebanon’s 1.2 million people who fled their homes and moved to the capital Beirut or other northern areas deemed relatively safer. But according to the United Nations, as of 9 January, more than 850,000 displaced Lebanese have returned to their homes in the south and Beirut’s southern suburbs. Many of these areas are heavily damaged, and ongoing Israeli strikes and land incursions - despite the ceasefire -  have claimed at least dozens of civilian lives, according to Lebanese officials.

The ceasefire agreement brought an end to over a year of border clashes and two months of intense fighting. It requires Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, while Hezbollah must retreat north of the Litani River to make way for the Lebanese army. 

However, with no signs of abating for the conflict, the deadline was moved to 18 February. Although the Lebanese government agreed to the extension, Hezbollah said it would not accept it. As protests erupted in southern Lebanon, Israel opened fire and blamed Hezbollah for pushing people to take to the streets.

50-year-old Mohammed Nahaleh, who stayed in Nabatieh throughout the conflict while many of his neighbors fled, recalls how there was an atmosphere of fear as everyone was scrambling to keep their families safe. They were all lost and scared, not knowing what to do, he speaks of the citizens who left in droves as the fighting intensified.

“I don’t want to live like a refugee [in my homeland]. So, I decided not to leave. I sent my family to a safe location and stayed behind to help people.” 

Nahaleh, however, worked on the ground as the sky was ringing with fire to provide support to people where the government failed to act. 

“They didn’t give us any warning to evacuate. All the support we got was from donations. We’d go to Saida to buy food and groceries and send them to the municipality, which distributed them. The government didn’t have a plan for us, so we had to manage on our own,” he said.

Mukhtar Hassan Jaber, a member of the municipal corporation sits in his partially bombed office with a clear view of an ancient souk buried under rubble. Over the whirring din of clearing machines, he shared how he is working with the aid organizations to help people resettle and rebuild their lives. 

“NGOs are providing machines to clear rubble and clean the streets. They’re doing everything they can to help people rebuild their homes,” Jaber told FairPlanet. But when asked about government support, he shakes his head in despair. 

“We don’t expect anything from them. They still haven’t compensated people for the 2006 war,” he said.

After the 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 , Hezbollah—backed by its ally Iran—financed much of the $2.8 billion reconstruction effort. The group has promised to help again, but this time, both Hezbollah and Iran are struggling as the former is still reeling from the losses in the war and the latter’s economy is in tatters. 

The World Bank estimates that this latest conflict caused $8 billion in damages and economic losses in Lebanon. Around 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, with nearly a quarter of buildings in the south wrecked. Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis, which began in 2019, only makes rebuilding harder.

Deputy Prime Minister Saadi Chami admitted in an interview with Associated Press that there is very little the government can do. “The government does not have the financial resources for reconstruction,” he told reporters.

Given the situation, Lebanese officials are hopeful that the international community may step in for help. They are also working closely with the World Bank to assess the damage and hope to create a fund that can help accelerate their reconstruction efforts. 

According to a recent tweet on X by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), Lebanon's Public Works and Transport Minister, Ali Hamie, met with a World Bank delegation to discuss a $250 million loan for emergency aid.

The funds would support rubble clearance, infrastructure rehabilitation, and restoring some damaged facilities, excluding structural reconstruction.

“If the World Bank gets involved, it might encourage other countries to step in and donate,” Chami added.

For Jaber, the challenges feel endless. “The war isn’t over, it’s just a ceasefire. People are coming back to destroyed homes and businesses. They’re doing their best to rebuild, but there’s no clear path forward,” he said.

For others like 45-year-old Veenan, the war has left deep scars. She and her family fled Nabatieh after the house next door was bombed, killing a mother and her two children. The journey to Beirut, which normally takes less than two hours, stretched to 13 hours that day.

When they finally returned, she was relieved to find their home intact. But their business had been shut for two months, leading to significant losses.

“I’m nervous the ceasefire won’t hold,” she told Fair Planet. “If the war starts again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave my home and come back this time. The government can’t even take care of the country—how will they help us?”