The mass movement began after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting sustained Israeli air attacks and a ground offensive. Villages across southern and eastern Lebanon, along with Beirut’s southern suburbs, have been largely emptied, pushing civilians into the capital in numbers equivalent to roughly one-fifth of the country’s population, according to government estimates.

Beirut’s infrastructure has come under severe strain as displaced families crowd into available spaces, including schools converted into shelters, mosques, storefronts and public parks. A sprawling tent settlement has emerged along the city’s waterfront, while others have set up makeshift shelters along the coastal corniche and near Horsh Beirut park.

Residents described deteriorating living conditions, with many lacking access to basic sanitation, electricity and adequate shelter. Some families have resorted to sleeping in vehicles or under tarpaulins, while heavy rains have flooded encampments, exacerbating health risks.

The United Nations refugee agency said the scale and speed of the displacement are without precedent in Lebanon’s recent history. Spokesperson Dalal Harb noted that the figure of one million displaced likely understates the true number, as many have not formally registered with authorities.

Government efforts to accommodate those fleeing have included converting hundreds of public buildings into shelters and establishing temporary facilities in large venues such as sports stadiums. Aid groups have also repurposed damaged infrastructure, including a slaughterhouse affected by the 2020 Beirut port explosion, to house displaced populations.

Despite these measures, capacity remains insufficient, forcing large numbers to remain in informal settlements. Many displaced families have opted to stay in Beirut rather than relocate to northern areas where space may be more available, citing concerns over losing proximity to their homes and communities.

Urban specialists warn that the visible scale of displacement is reshaping the city’s social and physical landscape, creating new pressures on public services and heightening tensions among residents.

The influx has also revived concerns over Lebanon’s fragile sectarian balance, with the displacement of large numbers of Shiite residents from southern regions and Beirut’s suburbs raising fears of demographic shifts in the capital.

Humanitarian agencies say needs are escalating rapidly as the conflict shows no sign of abating. Israeli forces have signaled the possibility of advancing further into Lebanese territory, raising the prospect of additional displacement.

Aid officials warned that conditions for those already displaced could deteriorate further without sustained assistance and a de-escalation in hostilities.

Mental health specialists and humanitarian organisations say the latest escalation, following the 2024 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, is compounding years of trauma linked to economic collapse, displacement and the 2020 Beirut port explosion.

More than 1,120 people have been killed, 3,235 wounded and around 1.3 million displaced in less than a month, according to available data, with United Nations estimates indicating roughly one-fifth of the population has been forced from their homes.

Civilians fleeing Israeli airstrikes and evacuation warnings have often left without belongings, seeking refuge in overcrowded areas including Beirut, where conditions remain strained.

Aid agencies warn that repeated displacement is reopening psychological wounds, particularly among those already affected by previous crises.Dr. George Karam, a Beirut-based psychiatrist, said that between 2020 and 2023, 63% of Lebanese experienced mental health problems, and that the current conflict is worsening these conditions “to a dangerous degree.”

He said demand for psychological support has risen sharply as people struggle with fear, exhaustion and uncertainty.The International Rescue Committee said that even before the latest escalation, nearly half the population screened positive for conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ongoing exposure to violence is now driving increased cases of severe anxiety, sleep disruption and emotional distress, it added.Lebanon’s National Mental Health Programme has expanded services, including hotlines and public guidance, but demand is rapidly outpacing capacity.

Calls to crisis hotlines doubled in the first 10 days of the escalation, with 55% of callers reporting acute distress and 30% expressing suicidal thoughts, according to programme data.

Mobile crisis teams have been deployed across Beirut and other regions to provide urgent care for those unable to access health facilities. However, insecurity and infrastructure damage are limiting access just as needs surge, aid groups said.

Children, women and displaced populations are bearing disproportionate impacts. UNICEF estimates more than 370,000 children have been displaced in three weeks, while UN Women reports that about a quarter of women and girls have been forced to flee, increasing risks of income loss, disrupted healthcare and gender-based violence.

The UN refugee agency has warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” as overcrowding, instability and limited services deepen vulnerabilities across communities.

Aid officials say the psychological toll is now visible across all segments of society, including among those with no prior history of mental health conditions. “People are living under constant threat, with no clear sense of safety,” said Magda Rossmann, the International Rescue Committee’s country director in Lebanon.

Lebanese health officials warn that without sustained international funding and an end to hostilities, the mental health impact of the crisis could become a long-term public health emergency, with effects lasting for years beyond the conflict.

In a joint letter to EU leaders, Mette Frederiksen and Giorgia Meloni said Europe “cannot risk a repeat” of the earlier influx, when hundreds of thousands arrived, many fleeing the Syrian civil war.

The two leaders urged the European Commission to adopt a 458-million-euro ($527 million) humanitarian aid package aimed in part at supporting populations affected by the Middle East conflict before displacement leads to onward migration toward Europe.

“The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is increasingly worrying,” they wrote, noting that the region already hosts large numbers of displaced people. They warned that unmanaged flows could have implications not only for those directly affected but also for the “security and cohesion” of the European Union.

Their proposal emphasizes assistance to countries in the region to manage displacement locally, reducing the likelihood of large-scale migration toward Europe.

Frederiksen and Meloni said the EU must strengthen its external borders and improve preparedness to respond to potential migration pressures. “We cannot afford to be taken by surprise as in the past,” they said, calling for proactive steps if the situation deteriorates.

The initiative reflects a broader push among some EU leaders to tighten migration policies in response to geopolitical instability and evolving security concerns.

The issue has also been raised by other European leaders. Friedrich Merz warned earlier this month that instability in Iran could have “far-reaching consequences,” including increased migration flows.

Frederiksen and Meloni were joined by Rob Jetten and other EU representatives in informal discussions with the European Commission on “innovative” approaches to limit immigration in light of the conflict.

The warnings come as the war, which began with a bombardment of Iran by the United States and Israel in late February, continues to reshape regional dynamics and raise concerns across Europe.

The bombardment signals the risks of a deepening rift between two powerful regional militaries over Syria, where Islamist rebels have installed a new government after toppling former leader Bashar al-Assad in December.

The Israeli strikes on the three sites Turkey was assessing, including a heavy barrage on Wednesday night, came despite Ankara’s efforts to reassure Washington that a deeper military presence in Syria was not intended to threaten Israel.

The Islamists replacing Assad have alarmed Israel, which is wary of an Islamist presence on its border and has lobbied the United States to curb Turkey’s growing influence in the country.

Ankara, a longtime backer of opposition to Assad, is positioning to play a major role in the remade Syria, including with a possible joint defence pact that could see new Turkish bases in central Syria and use of Syria’s airspace.

In preparation, Turkish military teams in recent weeks visited the T4 and Palmyra air bases in Syria’s Homs province and the main airport in Hama province, according to a regional intelligence official, two Syrian military sources and another Syrian source familiar with the matter.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the visits, which have not been previously reported.

Turkish teams evaluated the state of the runways, hangars and other infrastructure at the bases, the regional intelligence official said.

Another planned visit to T4 and Palmyra on March 25 was cancelled after Israel struck both bases just hours beforehand, according to the regional intelligence official and the two Syrian military sources.

Strikes at T4 “destroyed the runway, tower, hangars and the planes that were grounded. It was a tough message that Israel won’t accept the expanded Turkish presence,” said the intelligence official, who reviewed photographs of the damage.

“T4 is totally unusable now,” said a fourth Syrian source, who is close to Turkey.

When asked about the visits, a Turkish defence ministry official said: “Reports and posts regarding developments in Syria – whether real or alleged – that do not originate from official authorities should not be taken into consideration, as they lack credibility and may be misleading.”

A spokesperson for Syria’s defence ministry declined to comment.

Turkey’s foreign ministry on Thursday called Israel “the greatest threat to regional security”. On Friday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters Turkey wanted no confrontation with Israel in Syria.

Heavy Strikes

In the four months since Assad was toppled, Israel has seized ground in southwest Syria, made overtures to the Druze minority, and struck much of the Syrian military’s heavy weapons and equipment. Wednesday’s strikes were some of the most intense yet.

Syria’s foreign ministry said Israel struck five separate areas within a 30-minute window, resulting in the near-total destruction of the Hama base and wounding dozens of civilians and soldiers.

Israel said it hit the T4 air base and other military capabilities at air bases in Hama and Homs provinces, as well as military infrastructure in the Damascus area.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called the air strikes a warning that “we will not allow the security of the State of Israel to be harmed”. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of seeking a “Turkish protectorate” in Syria.

Noa Lazimi, a specialist in Middle East politics at Bar-Ilan University, said Israel was concerned that Turkey could establish Russian anti-aircraft systems and drones at T4.

“The base would enable Turkey to establish air superiority in this area, and this poses a serious concern for Israel because it undermines its operational freedom in the region,” she said.

Ideological Collision Course

Turkey has tried to reassure the U.S. that it wants to work towards a stable Syria.

Foreign Minister Fidan told U.S. officials in Washington last month that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa would not pose a threat to neighbours, according to a senior regional diplomat close to Turkey and a source in Washington briefed on the meetings.

Fidan and other Turkish officials had earlier told Sharaa that Ankara was carefully calibrating its moves towards a defence pact so as not to irk Washington, one of the Syrian military sources said.

“Turkey, not Israel, would pay the highest price among regional states were there to be failure or destabilization in Syria, including with refugees and security,” an official in Turkey’s ruling AK Party told Reuters.

Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute think tank, said Turkey and Israel were on an “ideological collision course” but could avoid military escalation through mediation with Washington.

Turkey does not provide its occupied areas with many basic needs. Instead local militias are accused of looting, kidnapping and extortion.

Turkish-backed far-right militants cut off the water to 400,000 Syrians, including tens of thousands of children, during the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports in eastern Syria.

Turkish-backed far right militants cut off the water to 400,000 Syrians, including tens of thousands of children, during the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports in eastern Syria. It comes at the worst possible time for people in Syria, including Kurdish and Christian minorities, who are in lockdowns due to the pandemic and now have no water.

The area is already threatened by the virus because the international community has cut off aid and does not provide testing for the virus. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces defeated ISIS a year ago in eastern Syria but now millions of people who live in the area lack access to basic needs. Turkey invaded part of eastern Syria in October 2019 after the US withdrew. 

According to human rights reports Turkish-backed extremists attacked civilians, executed at least one female politician in an extrajudicial killing and caused up to 200,000 people to be displaced from their homes. The extremists also threatened minority Christian communities who were recovering from ISIS.

Turkish forces occupy parts of eastern Syria near Tel Abyad but Turkey does not provide its occupied areas with many basic needs. Instead local militias are accused of looting, kidnapping and extortion. Over the last six months that has included attempts to cut off water to other parts of Syria. 

On March 21 residents reported that water had been cut off from the Allouk station, affecting 460,000 people. The UN and others have recorded the same incident. People in Hassakah, and neighboring villages, under SDF control, now have no water. Some water can be brought by trucks but at a time when the WHO recommends social distancing this increasingly leads to threats of the spread of the virus.

Turkey has not provided support for areas it occupies during the crises, as coronavirus rapidly spreads in Turkey, leaving Syrian refugees and internally-displaced people, wondering what comes next.

The Turkish-backed factions near Tel Abyad now control water supplies to others in Syria that they have switched off. Turkey, a NATO ally, has not responded to the water shortage and its role in backing groups responsible for it. The Syrian regime does not provide support for Syrians in eastern Syria and with border crossings to Iraq closed due to the pandemic it is unclear how the area will continue to function well amid the crises. 

US forces are now stopping movement due to the pandemic and the US is withdrawing from some areas in Iraq as it repositions. ISIS is on the rise and Russia is allegedly pressuring to take control of oil wells in  eastern Syria.

Turkey has also pressured Russia to cut a deal for a partition of oil resources in eastern Syria as Turkey seeks to get the US to withdraw from more locations.

A year after groups in Eastern Syria, particularly the Kurdish fighters, helped defeat ISIS, they lack even water for their homes during a global pandemic.

Anyone who experiences it, be they refugee or visitor, agrees that it feels like a hell on earth.

At Camp Moria, a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos close to the shores of Turkey, everything is in turmoil. In the midst of it all, there are children with nothing much to do, and some of them scramble among the trash, crowds of people everywhere they try to go. Illness has spread everywhere and the garbage is piled up high. By official count, more than 20,000 refugees live in Camp Moria in converted temporary Conex units and in tents. The rest, the unofficial numbers — we do not know how many — live in tents in the forests and on the streets. A large number of people also live in the island’s ruined buildings.

Amidst this mayhem, lone women and women with children have their own stories to tell.

The women’s section is on the right after you enter Camp Moria. Thousands of women refugees, alone or with their daughters, live in this place, which was designed for just 200 people. The extreme overcrowding has forced many of them to live in the men’s section or under tents in the woods around the camp. They too take shelter in nearby ruins, and most of them prefer it to Camp Moria. According to human rights organizations, a human catastrophe has unfolded in the camp. Anyone who experiences it, be they refugee or visitor, agrees that it feels like a hell on earth.

I stepped into the women’s section amidst a commotion that never seems to subside. A solitary woman refugee told me her story of sexual harassment. She has lived in the camp for a year without any prospects and is awakened every night by nightmares. One night, as she was returning from the city to the camp by herself, several men attacked and tried to rape her. She screamed loudly and a group of people luckily came to her rescue. Now she refers to the incident as “that horror” and never leaves the camp by herself.

We started walking around the camp with a few other women so they could tell me about the camp’s polluted environment and the lives of other refugees. But every step of the way we were chastised, a group of men shouting sexual insults at us. It was impossible to ignore.

Refugees from Domestic Violence

Most of the Iranian woman refugees who live in Camp Moria’s women’s section, and many like them who live in Athens or Turkey or other countries that take in refugees, have escaped domestic violence — a type of violence that is not considered a crime in Iran. There are no laws there to adequately address it. 

On this visit, I talked to a woman who told me she was forced to escape Iran because of domestic violence. Another said that her family tried to force her to marry a man she didn’t want to so she packed her bags and reached this island without letting her family know. “I wanted to commit suicide in Iran and here I also attempted suicide once,” she said as we were walking. “So they have given me tranquilizers.” She reached into her bag and showed me a plastic vial with some pills. She did not know the name of the pill, but it had stripped her body of all its hair. Still, I could see the shadow of a smile on her face and she spoke calmly.

A woman who had arrived at Lesbos with her son and her daughter and who lived in one of the tents outside the camp told me that she had been stuck on the island for more than 13 months. “My husband continuously beat us,” she said. “He would even beat my children. He was a drug addict and he wanted us to get him drugs. I took the children and came to Greece because of their future, but this is where we have ended up.” Did she have guardianship of her children? I asked her. “It would have taken years to get a divorce,” she said. “He refused to give me a divorce so I escaped.”

In another tent an Afghan woman told me about her illness, and her child’s. “My daughter throws up blood but the doctor says that she is all right,” she said. “My kidneys ache and the doctor says I might have kidney stones. But they do not give us any medication. They just tell us to drink water.”

Another woman living in a tent had recently given birth. “For a whole month neither me nor my baby have had a bath,” she told me.

There is no hot water. If people are lucky, the water is lukewarm. But often it is cut off, and it is the same with the electricity. The washstands and lavatories are dirty and there is a single food line for more than 20,000 refugees. Fights and violent clashes are common and weapons such as knives and machetes can be bought and sold easily. Illicit drugs are readily available. All the violence and crime happens right before the eyes of children, as well as adults, many of them vulnerable. Fires, fights, hunger, poverty, long waits and an uncertain future have pushed up the rate of suicide attempts.

No Medicine, No Money and Not Enough Doctors

Many people in the camps suffer from an illness everyone refers to as “scratchy.” Putrid boils appear on the skin and when the affected person scratches the boils, they spread all over the body, including to the genitals. But there is no medicine, no money and not enough doctors. Human rights organizations do their best under these primitive conditions, distributing tampons, diapers, clothing, and sometimes medicine. Most of the women I spoke to said, “The only thing we want is to be delivered from this hell.” And there can be little doubt that everyone in or near the camp feels this way. 

There are also many women in the camp who live with their own families, but this does not necessarily make their lives much better. One woman told me that her husband took out the frustrations of living in Camp Moria by beating her. Another woman was asking for help to get a certificate saying her husband had a “nervous ailment” so that they might be allowed to leave the island. And a woman who had arrived on Lesbos with her only daughter pleaded with me: “Can you teach me everything you know? I promise to learn it well and work for you.”

Most of the time, when the women trapped on this island tell me their stories, they do so through tears. They start to talk, but soon their chin begins to tremble and their eyes fill with tears. They all hope to come across an “angel of rescue.”  Like other refugees trapped in Greece, they complain about the politicians. They don’t understand why they have to suffer these conditions for months and even years.

In 2016, the European Union, Greece and Turkey signed an agreement that specified that refugees that arrive on the countries’ islands must remain there until their asylum applications are processed. If their application is rejected, they must be returned to Turkey and, in exchange, the European Union will give asylum to the same number of refugees accepted by Turkey. However, Turkey has objected to the plan in practice and this agreement has not been carried out.

On the other hand, according to the police and to refugee rights activists, the number of refugees on both of these islands and in Athens, all of whom are trying to get to Western Europe, is increasing day by day. Some lose their lives along the way, some simply lose their way and some are arrested and have to spend several months in prison and detention centers where, sometimes, life is even worse than in the camps.

Now the new Greek government has promised to cut short the time that it takes to process applications for asylum, close Camp Moria and turn it into a detention center. Human rights activists, however, are afraid that this might hurt the chances of refugees because their asylum applications might not be processed with adequate care and, as a result, they will then be imprisoned in closed camps.

Meanwhile, it’s Getting Worse

In the meantime, the situation at Camp Moria is now worse than it was some months ago. Every day there are more refugees, but the facilities have remained the same. Greece itself has to deal with an economic crisis — there are many homeless Greek citizens on the streets — but, in line with agreements with the European Union, Greece must now shield Europe from what some term the “invasion” of refugees. It’s a task that Greek journalists, activists and lawyers do not believe Greece is able to carry out on its own.

In this theater of horrors, news reports and rumors are on the whole more frightening for women than for men. Not only are they are in constant fear of sexual assault, they are afraid that if the Greek government hears of their protests through the media, they can easily be deported to Turkey, or they will be sent back to the countries where they came from. Consequently, many of them avoid reporters and the media and believe that nobody can or will help them. It feels to them as if the walls of the refugee world are pushing on them from every side, especially on the Greek islands.

Despite these fears and pressures, on January 30, hundreds of female refugees from Camp Moria went into the city to protest against the conditions under which they live. They protested against the absence of medicine and hygiene and the increasing violence in the camp that has robbed them of their peace. They say that it is this peace that they risked their lives for, crossing the sea, often on small sailboats or dinghies. Now they are trapped among tents, shipping containers, trash, pollution and neglect. On the day of the protest, and every day, what are they asking for? Escape from Moria.

Article first published on Iran Wire.

Analysts said that the increasing displeasure with Syrian refugees is a cause for concern for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which lost even the financial hubs of Istanbul and Ankara, in the March 31 local elections.

“Turkey’s stumbling economy and rising unemployment has fuelled anger against the presence of Turkey’s Syrian refugees, and many are resented by Turks as cheap labour taking over jobs and using services,” Reuters reported last week.

Syrians Barometer-2017 shows the statistics that a large portion of Turkish population hate Syrian refugees, they are viewed as burden and blamed for deteriorating public services, price increases, and rising unemployment.

There have been reports of intercommunal violence between Turkish citizens and Syrian refugees. Due to the growing resentment, Erdogan will deport a large number of Syrians.