Lebanon scrambles to contain tensions over displacement as Israel ups threats
Displaced Shiites are facing growing resentment from host communities in areas outside of Hezbollah’s control in Lebanon amid uncertainty over their return to southern Lebanon, where Israeli attacks and advances signal a potential ground invasion.
BEIRUT — As the Israel-Hezbollah war entered its fourth week in Lebanon on Monday, tensions between the mostly Shiite displaced population and host communities in non-Shiite areas across the country are mounting, fueled by growing fears that displacement may become permanent as Israel expands its operations in the south.
What happened: Reports emerged over the weekend about a plan by the Lebanese government to build a center for the displaced in the predominantly Christian Karantina area in northeast Beirut.
The plan, which the government has yet to officially comment on, drew criticism over concerns that some armed Hezbollah members could be living alongside displaced Shiite civilians.
Videos circulating online appeared to show work already underway to convert a warehouse in the Karantina neighborhood, which lies east of the Port of Beirut, into a shelter center that would accommodate more than 1,000 displaced people, according to local reports.
