BACKGROUND
In the 2010 update of the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) is the explicit commitment that appropriate and experienced staff and personnel with relevant deployment training are provided and rapidly deployed, that focus on action in the first eight critical weeks of humanitarian response and provide guidance for action beyond that, moving towards defined benchmarks. Traffic at the Syrian border remains high: the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that 50,000 Syrians returned from Lebanon in the past week, most of whom are residing in camps in the border area. The ongoing surge in displacement following the hostilities has accelerated, particularly since the widening in evacuation warnings for the south and Beirut. IOM estimated that 183,000 people were already displaced across the country on 3 March. However given extensive displacement in the last three days, and based on the population breakdown in 2024 between those inside and outside collective shelters, the current overall displacement figure could be at least twice as high. Authorities are urgently working to open new collective shelters to meet the growing demand. Following the displacement order for Beirut’s southern suburbs on 5 March, the Minister for Social Development announced that all public schools and universities across the country would be opened to host displaced persons. The Ministry has directed that these be open to all nationalities, though reports indicate this rule continues to be applied inconsistently across the country. Those displaced have been advised if possible to move to Bekaa, North and Akkar governates, where they are most likely to find shelters with capacity. In addition, three large-scale locations are being prepared in the Beirut area: the bus station in Charles Helou bus terminal, the Dbayeh Olympic pool and the Sports City stadium. Of these only Sports City (which is located between the coastal highway and the southern suburbs, within the latest evacuation zone) was used as a shelter in the 2024 escalation. It is due to open on Monday with capacity to host 2000 individuals. Latest data from the Disaster Risk Management unit (DRM) indicates that 483 shelters are currently activated, of which 430 are full and just 53 are open. Over half of these (294) are in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. According to the DRM, a total of 23,076 families (102,563 individuals) are currently housed in these shelters, although figures may be unreliable due to reported challenges in information management, data sharing and coordination.1 The DRM project that as many as one million people could become displaced if escalation persists, with an estimated 250,000 requiring collective shelter accommodation.