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 for years. With the help of neighbourhood residents, families entered the building on the night of 28 September, in the absence of shelters. The next day, the owners welcomed the displaced.

Families fixed and cleaned the building, secured electricity and water and maintained it, making it a suitable temporary living accommodation for about 256 people, having been abandoned and deteriorating for about eight years. 

On Thursday 17th of October, the displaced families were unofficially informed of an alert to evacuate the building.

On Saturday 19th of October, security services, from the intelligence, gendarmerie and state security services, arrived with buses to transport residents to a glass building located in Sabra area, and that it was therefore not an appropriate place to live under repeated incursions, and that it was located in an unsafe area that had been left by its residents for weeks.

Of course, people refused, and women stood up to the security forces. In the light of women’s resistance and rejection, and the presence of some journalists, media and supporting persons, the security forces postponed the evacuation. With a public statement before the cameras, the security forces threatened to return to carry out the evacuation on Monday morning, with a fiercer treatment.

Supporting the steadfastness of our people, we must stand up to these practices and press for the opening of vacant buildings, private and public, to receive displaced communities, without any discrimination or harassment.

In support of the dwellers, a sit-in was held on Monday, 21st of October at 8 a.m., in front of the Hamra Star building facing France Bank, Hamra Street. As a consequence, the general prosecutor gave the residents another 48 hours notice to evict. In this statement, initially written in Arabic, we outline how the authorities should act to safeguard the rights of the displaced to safe and dignified shelter, free from violence and forced evictions.