Lebanon: What homes are families returning to?

Months after the escalation of war in Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have started returning to southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs. People are returning to homes and villages in ruins, compounded by health facilities and essential services that are severely damaged. Despite repeated announcements of ceasefires, Israeli military operations including drone strikes, shelling and demolitions, continue in parts of southern Lebanon, leaving communities caught between returning home and ongoing insecurity. MSF is adapting its activities to ensure access to healthcare. 

"We are adapting our mobile activities in the hardest-hit areas in line with people's movements, as communities return or relocate," says Jeremy Ristord, MSF country coordinator. "Some families are returning to damaged homes, while others remain displaced, but humanitarian and medical needs remain immense. Recovery cannot happen while people continue to fear for their safety." 

Across southern Lebanon, people are contemplating a return to towns profoundly devastated by months of war. For those who do return, home is often no longer the place they left behind. 

Lina Jouni, an artist from Roumine, a village in the Nabatiyeh district, was displaced with her mother and sister during the bombardment. "We had to leave because of the bombardment, and my 79-year-old mother could not move or run. I had to get her somewhere safe," she recalls. 

Back in her village and receiving care through an MSF mobile clinic, Lina feels torn. "Seeing my friends again restored a much-needed sense of normalcy, but I am devastated by the destruction around us," she says. "I'm trying not to think about the past. When I first returned, I sat on my bed, then I went to my atelier to see my artworks. But I cannot create anymore." 

While some, like Lina, have returned, many towns remain inaccessible. 

Abdallah Al Khaled, 72, from the village of Ain Arab in the Marjeyoun district, was displaced to a collective shelter.  His village, near the Wazzani River along Lebanon's southeastern border, lies only a short distance away, yet remains inaccessible as Israeli forces continue to occupy the area. 

As he receives treatment at the MSF-supported Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh Hospital in Nabatiyeh, the sound of explosions from demolitions carried out by Israeli forces echo in the distance.  

"We have land and olive groves that we cared for and cultivated. We lived off the land, and now, at the end of my days, I have to pack my personal belongings and live in a tent," he says.  

Like many villages along the border, Ain Arab has been deeply affected by the war. Ongoing Israeli attacks, military presence, and repeated displacement orders have prevented residents from returning, leaving families displaced and uncertain about when, or whether, they will be able to go home. Today, he knows nothing of what remains of his home. 

Earlier in the war, Abdallah's 18-year-old nephew was killed in an Israeli airstrike. "The misery is making me sick," he adds. 

As of 2 July, nearly 500,000 people remain displaced across Lebanon, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many are unable to return safely because of continued Israeli military operations, while others have little shelter to return to. Across southern Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa Valley, widespread destruction of homes, healthcare facilities, roads and essential infrastructure continue to limit people's ability to rebuild their lives.

Although hospitals are receiving fewer war-wounded patients, people continue to be injured by Israeli strikes and explosive remnants of war. 

One young man, displaced with his family to a collective shelter in Ghaziyeh, decided to briefly return with a friend to visit their hometown after believing a ceasefire was in place. 

"I distinctly remember the sound of the missile. I don't think I'll ever forget it," he says. "My friend was killed instantly. I lay on the ground bleeding for hours. No one could reach me because of the shelling and airstrikes." 

He was eventually evacuated to Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh Hospital in Nabatiyeh, where he was treated for multiple injuries. After being discharged, he returned to the collective shelter where his family remains displaced. 

"After everything we have been through, I do not know what comes next," he says. 

Hospitals supported by MSF continue treating people injured by Israeli strikes, rubble, and explosive remnants of war. Among them is Saleh Abdel-Issa, who was injured while clearing broken glass left behind by the war after surviving months of airstrikes in Nabatiyeh. 

MSF continues adapting its response to ensure people can access essential healthcare wherever they are. Mobile clinics across southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs, Baalbek-Hermel and northern Lebanon provide primary healthcare, mental health services, sexual and reproductive healthcare, treatment for chronic diseases and referrals, while fixed clinics in Bourj Hammoud and Hermel continue delivering routine care.  

MSF has been supporting obstetric emergency and neonatal care in Zahle and the central Bekaa, as well as improving access to secondary healthcare through support to hospitals across the country. Additionally, our teams have begun rehabilitating primary healthcare centres, distributing relief items, upgrading ambulances, supporting hospitals with medical donations and emergency preparedness, and providing mental health support for healthcare workers who endured a heavy psychological toll during the escalation. 

Ali Awarke, head emergency room nurse at the MSF-supported Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh Hospital in Nabatiyeh, is one of the many healthcare workers who continued working throughout the war. 

"It was our responsibility to stay and care for our community," says Ali. "The hardest moments were when paramedics and fellow healthcare workers arrived as patients, or when they were killed in Israeli strikes. Those moments will never leave me."