A young girl, displaced by Israeli bombings in Lebanon, sleeps on the side walk in downtown Beirut on Oct. 1, 2024. (Credit: Patrick Baz/AFP)
BEIRUT — “Baghdad, Beirut, Damascus, Gaza, a similar fate has been unleashed on us all," says Mohammad, a Lebanese man who fled to Iraq’s capital Baghdad last week via Damascus International Airport. Walking near the Dijlah river in his black Adidas sweatpants and T-shirt, one of the few outfits he was able to retrieve when he fled from Ainata in the Bint Jbeil district, he recounts his journey.
“I grew up as an orphan when my dad was killed in the 2006 war,” he shares, recalling the day their house was bombed by the Israeli army.
His mother raised him and his two elder brothers, who now live and work in Germany. Although he graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the Lebanese University, Mohammad has been unemployed for over eight months.
“I saw on Facebook that the administration of the Holy Shrine Of Imam Hussain was providing assistance to displaced Lebanese southerners,” he explains. “My brother Samer, who lives in Germany, sent me money to buy a ticket to Baghdad and I came. My mother stayed in a public school in Sour.”
The administration of the shrine, alongside several Lebanese and Iraqi Shiite businessmen, are supporting shelters across Iraq to host those displaced from the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa.
'Our priority is to give young Lebanese a chance'
One of the Lebanese businessmen backing these initiatives spoke to L’Orient Today on the condition of anonymity, fearing U.S. sanctions. “Some of our young men are giving their blood so that Lebanon remains free from occupiers — I’m giving my money,” he says.
An informal network of Lebanese has become a focal point across several shelters and hospitals in Lebanon, assessing the situation of those fit to travel to Iraq.
“Our priority is to give young Lebanese a chance to survive the war and evacuate those in dire need of treatment,” says Hajj Ammar Bazzi, who is overseeing the evacuation of Lebanese families from the Bint Jbeil district to Iraq. He adds that this effort comes “under the blessings and guidance of the Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali Sistani, may God grant him a long life.”
Sistani, the highest Shiite Authority in Iraq, has facilitated the arrival of ambulances, which are now transporting patients from the airport directly to hospitals for free treatment, paid for by the office of Sistani, the administrations of the holy shrines of Imam Ali and Imam Hussein in Najaf and Karbala. According to a source at the shrine of Imam Hussein, these shrines receive donations from Shiites around the world, including businessmen from Africa and India.
“Shiite businessmen are some of the biggest donors to the shrines and we have been authorized to use part of the funds to aid our Lebanese brothers and those suffering as a result of Israeli aggression,” the source said.
On Tuesday, Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displaced Persons announced the arrival of a second batch of Lebanese families from Syria, totaling over 260 individuals, crossing into Iraq through al-Qaim border. This followed Monday's arrival of the first group of Lebanese displaced — 144 in total — with more expected in the coming days.
Among those who arrived in Iraq on Monday were people requiring urgent medical attention, who were then transferred to hospitals affiliated with religious shrines, rather than government hospitals.
The Iraqi Red Crescent Society also received a bus carrying 17 displaced Lebanese, providing food services and first aid, and the injured were later transferred to the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf to perform ziyarat (a religious visit to pray), according to an official statement from the society.
The ministry also revealed that several Lebanese patients had been transported to Iraq for treatment after being injured in Israeli airstrikes. Iraqi government directives have granted free entry visas for Lebanese citizens and eased their entry into Iraq following the intensified Israeli aggression.
A statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displaced Persons affirmed Iraq's readiness to receive more displaced Lebanese families and outlined that preparations are underway to receive larger numbers of displaced Lebanese in the coming days.
Around 1,873, people were killed in Lebanon and over 9,134 were injured since Sep. 23 when the war between Hezbollah and Israel underwent a devastating escalation.