Life in Lebanon a year on from war
October 2025
During the autumn of 2024, our Christian partners in Lebanon rapidly responded to the unfolding crisis of the escalating Israel-Hezbollah war, triggered by Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on northern Israel in response to the ongoing war in Gaza. As Israeli airstrikes struck across Lebanon and Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon, our partners’ staff faced displacement, danger and fear. Some lost homes, others lost loved ones. Nevertheless, they continued their work to help others.
This war was a crisis on top of a multitude of crises that have affected Lebanon in the last few years (including the Beirut port blast, a crippling economic collapse, and a political crisis that left the government unable to function and public services without funding). Most in the country were already struggling to make ends meet and unable to bear the costs of losing their home or their job or having to relocate because of the conflict.
Building beds for displaced families, October 2024
To help, some of our partners turned their centres into shelters for displaced families; others began building beds, making blankets or suppling meals; others took their education programmes online so children could still access their lessons or sent their medical teams to the public shelters to provide check-ups and medicines.
On 27 November 2024, a ceasefire agreement was signed, officially bringing an end to the fighting. But what has life been like in Lebanon since then and how have our partners been responding?
Most displaced families have been able to return to their homes, but the war had a lasting impact
Most of those who fled the fighting have now returned to their homes – public shelters have closed and our partners’ centres have been able to resume their original function. But our partner Tahaddi told us that returning home did not necessarily mean a return to normality, particularly for the residents of the economically deprived neighbourhood in which they work:
“Even after the cessation of daily hostilities, many families in Hay El Gharbeh continued to grapple with financial losses—including unexpected costs accrued during displacement and the loss of property through looting and theft.
Bomb damage, Beirut September 2025.
“During critical weeks of the conflict, many stateless and Syrian nationals [refugees] were excluded from the public shelters. This meant many of the residents of Hay El Gharbeh were compelled to stay in makeshift shelters or sleep in the open air in public spaces, all of which worsened health conditions… Tahaddi’s presence [this year] to respond to needs with practical help has been critical at a time when so many other aspects of life remained volatile.
In other areas of Beirut and particularly in southern Lebanon, people returned to damaged or destroyed houses and neighbourhoods. Few are able to afford repairs and, almost a year on from the ceasefire, it is unclear when, or if, any government funds will be available for rebuilding.
Psychological impact of the war has left lasting trauma
One of the most significant impacts of the war has been the psychological trauma. Many of our partners are reporting seeing a dramatic rise in the need for mental health support. The Karagheusian Health Centre tell us:
“The psychological wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and the like of the past added to the recent escalations, which have led some people to face the trauma of losing their homes yet again, being displaced yet again, and experiencing loss all over again. The unpredictability of the situation has increased both the demand for mental health services and the complexity of the cases presenting at our centre.”
To respond, and with the help of Embrace funding, the Karagheusian centre have expanded their medical team, bringing in an additional full-time psychologist and four part-time specialists.
Karagheusian Heath Centre, September 2025
Children have been particularly affected by the war
For children the impact was particularly acute, with the emotional toll combining with the disruption to their school lessons (which during the war either did not happen or was through online learning). This too is taking time for them to recover from. Our partner SKILD works with children with learning difficulties:
Many schools were used as public shelters during the war. The effects of this disruption to education is still being felt.
“Over 40% of students were displaced, and half of public schools had been converted into shelters, leading to overcrowded classrooms, compressed schedules, and widespread closure of learning facilities. Students with learning difficulties were disproportionately affected: cognitive disruptions stemming from trauma reduced attention span, memory retention, and information processing — core challenges to academic progress.
“We found it essential to shift focus toward psychosocial and trauma-informed support for a short while. Our teams first addressed students’ anxiety, fear, and emotional instability through group sessions, emotional check-ins, and social-emotional learning activities.”
Another Embrace partner, the Learning Centre for the Deaf, has also noticed the impact in the children they are working with:
“We have also seen an increase in behavioural and emotional challenges among children. These are not only the result of the recent conflict but are influenced by a combination of factors, including family stress and disrupted routines... As a result, intervention can be more demanding, and progress in some cases has been slower.
We’ve learned that flexibility and emotional support are just as important as therapy itself. Families are dealing with many challenges, so adapting our approach based on their needs has been essential.”
Political progress is welcome, but change is slow
The sense we get from partners is that there is a general sense of being in limbo in the country. Although a ceasefire agreement was signed at the end of November 2024, fighting has not entirely stopped and there is a persistent fear that it could escalate again. Sectarian tensions are also on the rise, particularly around the issue of whether Hezbollah disarm. Elections in early 2025 brought a new government and president for the country, leading to hope of change and recovery from the long-term economic crisis. But progress is slower than many in Lebanon would like and few ordinary individuals are yet feeling the benefits of any change.
Our partners are a vital anchor of stability in this storm of challenges and uncertainty. They will continue to adapt their services to provide the best support possible for the most vulnerable in Lebanese society.
GIVE A DONATION TO HELP FAMILIES STILL STRUGGLING TO RECOVER FROM WAR
Our partners in Lebanon continue to help families still struggling to recover from the effects of war and economic crisis. Please support their work with a donation today. Thank you.
