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In Lebanon, the same fears and dangers persist despite ceasefire: UNHCR
Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
“Civilians in the south of Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa [Valley] are really living with the same fear for their lives as before the ceasefire and more are being forced to flee…many of the displaced are not even allowed to return by the Israeli army in areas it controls in the south,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Representative in Lebanon.
Since 17 April, at least 380 people have been killed despite a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, the agency said.
In addition, homes and public services have suffered “widespread destruction” across large parts of the country, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, the UNHCR official reported.
She described meeting families who had tried to return to their homes in Nabatieh and Tyre after the ceasefire, only to find twisted masonry and chaos.
“They were even more devastated than before after seeing their homes completely destroyed,” Ms. Lindholm Billing explained. “One man, he showed me a photo on his phone of his demolished house. And he’s now back inside a sleeping on the floor in a classroom that serves as a collective shelter with nothing to return to and a very uncertain future.”
Civilians and emergency workers are protected under international humanitarian law, but that hasn’t prevented the targeting of non-combatants who live in fear of being killed every day.
“I want to share one clear message from Lebanese Red Cross volunteers: they are asking for protection,” said Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for UN partner, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). While visiting volunteer paramedics in Lebanon last week he said that “every time they go on an ambulance mission, they hug each other and say goodbye to one another, unsure if they will return safely.”
In the last two months, two IFRC Lebanon paramedics have been killed or died from injuries sustained while responding to callouts in southern Lebanon: Youssef Assaf and Hassan Badawi.
“In a normal world, Red Cross volunteers would not need flak jackets or helmets in ambulances, the emblem should protect them,” said Mr. Della Longa. “But this is not a normal world. In Lebanon, Youssef and Hassan were killed while saving lives. The emblem did not protect them, nor their protective equipment.”
Across Lebanon today, around 1.8 million people have been uprooted by the war between Hezbollah fighters and Israel, which erupted on 2 March when the Israeli military responded to Hezbollah rocket fire, three days after Israel and the US began bombing Iran.
“Families forced from their homes speak not only of loss but of their dignity being taken away,” stressed Mr. Della Longa. He explained that restoring people’s dignity “is central to the response”. Delivering aid is important, but so too is “listening, involving people and enabling them to support one another”, he said, adding that the ceasefire “has not restored norms or livelihoods, nor does it guarantee basic needs such as water, food or healthcare”.
ends
Lebanon emergency update – UNHCR, IFRC
TRT: 3 min 30s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 5 MAY 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND & Broll from UNHCR in LEBANON taken 30 April 2026 and from IFRC in LEBANON taken 1 May 2026; please consider crediting the relevant organization.
Speakers:
- Karolina Lindholm Billing, Representative in Lebanon, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) from Beirut
- Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Karolina Lindholm Billing, Representative in Lebanon, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Civilians in the south of Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa are really living with the same fear for their lives as before the ceasefire and more are being forced to flee. Just to recall that since 17 April, at least 380 people have been killed despite the ceasefire and widespread destruction continues across large parts of the country.”
- Wide, podium.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Karolina Lindholm Billing, Representative in Lebanon, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Insecurity continues to shape people's decisions about whether to return to their home villages or to stay put in relative safety, for now. And many of the displaced are not even allowed to return by the Israeli army in areas it controls in the south.”
- Medium, journalist.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Karolina Lindholm Billing, Representative in Lebanon, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Many of those who return and have tried to go back since the ceasefire, have witnessed widespread destruction of their homes, of infrastructure, no electricity or water, damaged or non-functional health care facilities and schools, and ongoing risks from unexploded ordinance.”
- Wide, video journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Karolina Lindholm Billing, Representative in Lebanon, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “One man, he showed me a photo on his phone of his demolished house, and he's now back inside a sleeping on the floor in Saida in a classroom that serves as a collective shelter with nothing to return to and a very uncertain future.”
- Wide, podium speakers, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): “I want to share one clear message from Lebanese Red Cross volunteers: they are asking for protection. Every time they go on an ambulance mission, they hug each other and say goodbye to one another, unsure if they will return safely.”
- Medium, podium speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): “In a normal world, Red Cross volunteers would not need flak jackets or helmets in ambulances. The emblem should protect them. But this is not a normal world. In Lebanon, Youssef and Hassan were killed while saving lives. The emblem did not protect them, nor their protective equipment.”
- Medium, ambulance worker preparing to head out in ambulance; IFRC footage taken 1 May 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide, ambulance workers on steps of medical facility, IFRC footage taken 1 May 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide, ambulance worker walking to IFRC vehicle, IFRC footage taken 1 May 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide, Lebanon makeshift shelter, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide, Lebanon makeshift shelter, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide tents on roadside, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide children in wasteland by makeshift shelters, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide, school shelter and bed, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Medium, school shelter and bed, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Medium, tent and tarpaulin, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
- Wide, tents on roadside under palm trees, UNHCR footage taken 30 April 2026 in Lebanon.
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