The 2023 Israeli War:

Fates of Residents and Confrontation Paths in Lebanon

Dossier

Map of Israeli Attacks on Lebanon 2023

Examining Displacement Destinations:

New Housing Dynamics in Tyre and Aley

The Scene from the South:

Abandoned Towns and Bumbling Municipalities

Genocide and Media:

Killing Journalism and Distorting the Narrative

 “The Preventive Plan for Dealing with Any upcoming War:

When Will the State Recognize that we are in a State of War?"

The displaced bring life back to a vacant building on Jeanne d’Arc Street

Urgent World Habitat Day Appeal: End Israeli Occupation and Criminalise Domicide

Global Crisis of Housing Rights Violations in Palestine and Lebanon

On the state’s responsibility in facing the effects of war

Unequal Distribution of Shelters: Undermining Shared Social Responsibility

Call regarding the Use of Public Spaces by Displaced Persons

Gaza: Space as a Fighter in the Colonizer’s Narrative

Dossier

International Conference to Support Lebanon: Prioritizing Transparency

Policy Watch

Unequal Distribution of Shelters: Undermining Shared Social Responsibility

Field Watch

On the state’s responsibility in facing the effects of war

Statement
Field Watch

The blame game over shelter responsibilities is playing out in a car parking in Saida

For over a month, around 700 Syrian refugees displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon have been living in a parking lot in Saida City. Stranded without alternatives, their situation remained unresolved until the property owner’s influence and the protection of private property rights prompted officials to take action—not to find a solution, but to evict them, leaving their fate uncertain.

Article Investigation

 About Abd el Baqi building in Hamra:

squatting to reclaim the city’s social role

The right to the city is an application of the right to ​​access housing and city spaces, through the recognition of the importance of the space’s social role. Today, a number of displaced people are trying to apply the concepts of the right to the city and housing by taking possession of an abandoned building in Hamra. About a month ago, the owner of the building sent an eviction request to the public prosecutor. The eviction didn’t take place, but by narrating the threat and the building’s story, we hope to open a discussion about squatting, the priorities that drive such an issue, and the balance of power it reveals, especially since squatting has become a necessity and a reality during the war.

Statement

WUF12: Disconnecting from Reality in a Region Struggling for Housing Rights

The World Urban Forum (WUF) was created to drive real change in cities by connecting global goals with local action. The WUF12 program appears to have decontextualized the core purpose of the World …

Investigation

May school in Tripoli: A Model of the Syrian Housing Tragedy during War

The emergency plan approved by the Lebanese government in response to the recent Israeli war on Lebanon excluded non-Lebanese displaced persons, especially Syrian refugees, from relief and shelter centers. In this report, we review the situation in May Public School in Tripoli as an example of the tragedy of Syrian housing in the war to highlight the urgent need for comprehensive shelter policies and protection for all displaced communities.

Policy Watch

Three Million Euros to Rehabilitate the Mar Mikhael Station:

An Opportunity to Utilize Vacant State Properties for Wartime Needs.

مع استمرار العدوان الإسرائيلي، يزداد النزوح في لبنان بشكل سريع، ممّا يؤدي إلى كثافة عالية في مراكز الإيواء الرسمية. العديد من النازحين مضطرون للبقاء في العراء أو في سياراتهم، بينما تبقى أملاك الدولة شاغرة. تشير بيانات وزارة المالية إلى وجود 1285 عقاراً ملك الدولة في بيروت، مما يوفر فرصة لإيواء النازحين إذا تم إدراجها في خطة الطوارئ. من بين هذه الأملاك، تعتبر محطة قطار مار مخايل موقعاً مناسباً، خصوصاً بعد تلقّي الحكومة مؤخراً هبة إيطالية بقيمة 3.15 مليون يورو لإعادة تأهيلها.

Policy Watch

Displaced Syrians, between an emergency plan that excludes them and the UNHCR that ignores them

In Saida, 145 displaced Syrian families are living in a parking lot due to their exclusion from the relief response outlined in Lebanon’s emergency plan, which prioritizes Lebanese citizens. Both the municipality and the UNHCR are refusing to carry the responsibility for their shelter, with the UNHCR advising refugees to seek shelter elsewhere, leaving many homeless. This piece calls for the UNHCR to fulfill its responsibility by either establishing shelters for displaced Syrians or advocating for non-discriminatory access to shelter with the Lebanese government.

Field Watch

Beirut Municipality removes the tents of the displaced in Ramlet el Bayda while using force and without securing alternatives

On Thursday October 31st, the security forces proceeded to remove the tents that were inhabited by more than seventy displaced persons in Ramlet al-Bayda, to transfer them to a new shelter in the Karantina area. However, these plans excluded non-Lebanese, causing them another displacement or homelessness.

Policy Watch

International Conference to Support Lebanon: Prioritizing Transparency

France will host an international conference on October 24 to raise $1 billion for Lebanon’s urgent humanitarian needs, infrastructure repairs, and ceasefire negotiations. An earlier appeal raised only 15.1% of the $426 million needed for displaced people. There is a strong need for transparency in aid distribution and political action to address the root causes of Lebanon’s crisis, particularly the Israeli occupation.

Statement

Security forces threaten displaced women in the Hamra area with violence and eviction from a vacant building

What measures should the authorities take when vacant buildings are occupied by displaced people due to the war?

After the Zionist escalation of civilian homes, Lebanese families were displaced from the Bekaa, the southern suburb and the south, sheltering inside the Hamra Star building on property 70, which had been vacant …

Dossier

The Right to the city and to housing during wars

It is not possible to imagine a war that would displace one fifth of the population, destroying the suburb of Beirut as well as the country’s southern and eastern region, bombing Lebanon’s entire …

Petition

Call regarding the Use of Public Spaces by Displaced Persons

The statement addresses the issue of displaced persons occupying public spaces due to the ongoing war and a rapid increase in displacement. In the initial phases, many displaced individuals sought refuge in open …

Field Watch

Unequal Distribution of Shelters: Undermining Shared Social Responsibility

Beirut has 114 designated shelters for displaced individuals, including public schools, private educational centers, and other facilities. These shelters are housing around 40,000 displaced people, mostly in crowded areas like Mazraa, Ras Beirut, …