A significant wave of displacement has been recorded from villages in southern Lebanon as airstrikes near civilian targets.
Photos and videos shared on social media on Monday show traffic congestion and bottlenecks in the streets of several Lebanese villages and towns under Israeli attack. There are also reports of schools in Beirut opening to receive displaced people.
Lebanon remains in the eye of the Israeli storm, with continuous escalation since last week, amid international warnings of the risk of an explosion at any moment, potentially leading to an all-out war.
The Lebanese news agency (NNA) reported that the main streets and roads of the city of Sidon are experiencing heavy traffic after schools and institutes in the area reduced their teaching hours and asked parents to pick up their children due to the escalating situation in the south. The southern entrance to Sidon is also congested as residents from several southern villages and towns are fleeing toward the city. Meanwhile, the medical sector and health organizations have mobilized medical and emergency teams in anticipation of any emergency, responding to the Ministry of Health’s plan given the current circumstances.
NNA also noted severe traffic congestion on the highway and the Khaldeh triangle in both directions leading to Beirut, due to the decision to close universities and schools, as well as parents arriving to pick up their children, and the displacement from the south due to the security developments.
Imad Kreidieh, the head of Lebanon’s Ogero telecom company, told Reuters that Lebanon received more than 80,000 suspected Israeli calls on Monday, urging people to evacuate. He described the event as psychological warfare aimed at spreading panic and chaos.
On a related note, caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi stated that several schools in Beirut and Mount Lebanon have begun to receive displaced individuals.
Moreover, caretaker Interior Minister, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, directed governors to cooperate extensively with the massive displacement from southern regions. It was decided to open public schools and institutes as shelters in Zahle and the Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel, Tyre, the Nabih Berri Complex in Bir Hassan, the Hotel School in Dekwaneh, and Tripoli.
Additionally, public schools in safe areas in the south will also be available, while many public schools and institutes in Mount Lebanon, particularly in Chouf, Aley, and Baabda, have already begun to receive displaced people.
