Beirut, Lebanon – Before Israel launched war against Lebanon, Ali (whose full name is withheld for security reasons) lived in Haddatha, a village in the southern district of Bint Jbeil, about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the Israeli border, surrounded by natural beauty and where agriculture was the essence of life.

Then came the “fire of hell” in Israel.

At least nine people died and about 3,000 injured, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Thousands of pagers explodedOn September 17, 2024, at almost the same time, the hospital was overcrowded.

Six days later, Israel escalated its attacks in the south, killing nearly 600 people. the deadliest day More than one million people have been displaced since the country’s devastating civil war ended in 1990.

“Our house was destroyed,” he told Al Jazeera. Ali took refuge in Burj Qalaway, a small town about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of Hadatta.

But more than a year later, despite the ceasefire, he has yet to return home. He is one of tens of thousands of displaced people across Lebanon who say the meager support they receive from the Lebanese state or Hezbollah is not enough to rebuild their lives or their homes destroyed during the war.

South ‘unsafe’

On November 27, 2024, a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel came into effect. The agreement ends more than a year of cross-border attacks and two months of intensified Israeli operations that have killed thousands of people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and destroyed civilian infrastructure.

Under the ceasefire agreement, cross-border attacks should cease, Hezbollah should withdraw its troops from north of the Litani River, which flows through southern Lebanon, and Israel should withdraw its troops that invaded southern Lebanon in October.

However, Israel never stopped attacking. Its troops still occupy five locations in southern Lebanon and during the ceasefire it Several villages were razed to the ground to the ground.

estimate 1.2 million peopleMore than a quarter of Lebanon’s population was displaced during the war. On the morning of November 27, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the southern villages. go home. But tens of thousands more have been left behind, still unable to return home.

“The south is not safe,” Ali said. “I was worried that I might be walking somewhere and a raider would attack a car next to me.”

Israeli attack People continue to cross the southern and eastern Bekaa Valley almost daily, with the Lebanese government counting more than 2,000 Israeli violations The 2024 ceasefire agreement comes into effect in the last three months of 2025.

Ali is not alone. Based on data compiled in October 2025, the International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 64,000 people remain internally displaced in Lebanon.

Entire villages were “razed to the ground”

Some of the 64,000 people are unable to return to their homes along the border with Israel. Israeli soldiers still occupy five positions on Lebanese territory and manage large swathes of southern Lebanon through violence and technology: using drones, airstrikes, shelling or gunfire. Since the ceasefire, Israel has killed more than 330 people in Lebanon, including at least 127 civilians.

Melina* comes from the southern border village of Odesse and has lived in Nabatiere for most of her life. During the war, she was displaced to Sidon, a southern city about 44 kilometers (27 miles) south of Beirut.

“I was not able to visit my village,” she told Al Jazeera. “Psychologically, I couldn’t bear to see our house completely destroyed and the whole village razed to the ground.”

“The security situation remains extremely dangerous,” she said. “You can get shot at at any time from the Israeli side, and it’s not safe to travel without a Lebanese army escort.”

Ali runs a market in Kalavrita but says the income is not enough to rebuild his home. There are other problems. Israel has attacked reconstruction facilities in southern Lebanon, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

“During the ceasefire, the Israeli military has illegally launched attacks targeting reconstruction-related equipment and facilities,” Human Rights Watch Lebanon researcher Ramzi Keys said in a December 2025 report. “After reducing many towns along Lebanon’s southern border to rubble, the Israeli military is now making it more difficult for tens of thousands of residents to rebuild their destroyed homes and return to their towns.”

some lebanese also Fear Israel will launch a new offensive similar to that in 2024.

“Can’t see 2 centimeters ahead”

At around 7:40 pm on July 30, 2024, Ramez*, known to locals as “Haret Hreik”, was sitting in the bedroom of his home in Haret Hreik, a suburb south of Beirut. DahiyehThe area has been frequently targeted by Israel in the past due to Hezbollah’s presence.

His cat was wandering around the room and he was busy talking on the phone when he heard a loud explosion.

Fighting rages in the south, but attacks on Beirut and its suburbs are not yet that common. “I heard over nine loud bangs,” Ramez said. He ran out of the bedroom to help his family evacuate. He said he left the door open so his cat could escape. When he told his mother to get something, he heard the loudest bang.

“The whole neighboring building collapsed on top of us,” he said. Israel just leveled the building next to him, killing Fouad Shukra senior Hezbollah commander.

“I couldn’t see 2 centimeters ahead of me because of the fog and dust.”

Ramez’s family escaped unharmed, but their home was severely damaged and his sister’s car was also destroyed. His cat also survived. He found them the next day.

“I’ve always wondered how people go through something like this and move on and say, OK, Alhamdulillah, everyone’s still alive,” he said, “but that’s when it kind of dawned on me.”

After the war he was able to return to his home in Hallethreike. But his family must pay for much of the reconstruction costs themselves, with little help from the government or any group.

They registered with the government for aid but said they received only a one-time payment of 30 million Lebanese pounds (just over $330).

Hezbollah also sent engineers to assess the damage. In December 2024, Reuters reported that Hezbollah would pay approximately $77 million and rent to families affected by the war. Some locals say the group’s payments have played a role, but others say the group has stopped paying non-members or is trying to understate their losses.

“They were very stingy with their payments,” Ramez said. “They tried to get us to accept a low payment, but my mom stood her ground and said it was enough.”

Others displaced by the war told Al Jazeera that aid from the state and Hezbollah was very limited.

War is “the most terrible”

Reports on Hezbollah’s financial capabilities are mixed, and it’s difficult to determine how badly they have been financially hit after the group’s political and military leadership suffered heavy losses in the 2024 war and suffered multiple assassinations by Israel, including of its long-time charismatic leader. Hassan Nasrallah.

this The fall of Bashar Assad’s regime The Syrian attack has also dealt a serious blow to Hezbollah, disrupting overland routes to its main sponsor Iran – and now itself in trouble from deadly protests and be prepared for possible situations US attack. The organization is under intense pressure from the Lebanese government disarmthe United States and Israel exerted pressure.

The crisis is further exacerbated by the fact that Lebanon has been one of the countries for nearly seven years. worst economic crisis According to the World Bank, for more than 150 years. This has hit locals hard, with many bank accounts frozen and the currency devalued by more than 90%.

This leaves many displaced people feeling abandoned and wondering how to move on with their lives.

violent behavior Israeli air strikes Saturday in the south, continuing Sunday. Meanwhile, people like Ali must continue to find ways to survive as their displacement continues for more than a year.

“We love life, but it’s not good. War hurts you,” Ali said. “War is the most terrible thing in the world.”

*For security reasons, real names are withheld.

Joao Sosa contributed to this report.