Displaced Lebanese protest in Beirut over southern destruction

Crowds of displaced Lebanese from the country’s south have gathered outside the United Nations offices in Beirut to protest Israeli attacks that have led to the destruction of homes, towns, and villages.

The protest on Thursday came amid a major escalation in Lebanon that began in early March, after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting Hezbollah to retaliate. Israel responded with airstrikes and expanded its existing military presence in the south of the country.

Israel has reportedly occupied around 600 sq km of territory in southern Lebanon, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians from some 57 towns and villages located within the zone.

“We are people with disabilities, as well as homeowners and business owners from the south who have suffered losses and are facing severe hardships,” one of the protesters told RT. “This day will serve as an international day against evictions, bombardments and destruction, especially given that Israel, that brutal enemy, has shattered the very foundations of life in the south.”

Another protester said that “territories [in southern Lebanon] have been and continue to be subjected to systematic destruction that defies all international norms.”

Protesters also urged the Lebanese authorities to support displaced people, stressing that they “want to know what the future holds and wish to avoid uncertainty.”

Last week, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told parliament that the estimated cost of reconstruction had reached around $27 billion, more than double the World Bank’s previous estimate of up to $13 billion. He also said that around 91,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed amid the ongoing Israeli aggression.

The international community has linked reconstruction funding to the disarmament of armed groups, including Hezbollah, a process that, according to analysts, could take years and remains a major political challenge for Lebanon.