A Lebanese woman displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs by Israeli bombardment stands in front of a makeshift tent in which she sleeps with her family, on Oct. 29, 2024, on Ramlet al-Baida beach, Beirut. (Credit: Matthieu Karam)
The social and humanitarian consequences of the war with Israel, whose violence has escalated significantly, have been worsening since Oct. 8, 2023. The World Bank estimated the cost of the war at over $8.5 billion — including more than $5 billion in economic losses. This is added to more than 1.2 million displaced persons, according to official figures. This internal displacement has been taking place against a backdrop of food insecurity, with only 40,000 tons of wheat available as of November 2024 (enough for 1.3 months’ worth of consumption), and rising transport costs, the World Bank noted. While the country had to deal with the fact that 44 percent of the overall population was already living below poverty line in 2022, the conflict has substantially worsened this situation, particularly in the Shiite community, which has been...
The social and humanitarian consequences of the war with Israel, whose violence has escalated significantly, have been worsening since Oct. 8, 2023. The World Bank estimated the cost of the war at over $8.5 billion — including more than $5 billion in economic losses. This is added to more than 1.2 million displaced persons, according to official figures. This internal displacement has been taking place against a backdrop of food insecurity, with only 40,000 tons of wheat available as of November 2024 (enough for 1.3 months’ worth of consumption), and rising transport costs, the World Bank noted. While the country had to deal with the fact that 44 percent of the overall population was already living below poverty line in 2022, the conflict has substantially worsened this situation, particularly in the Shiite community, which has...