Médecins Sans Frontières - Khadija's family makeshift shelter

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF361872

Date taken / Date Recorded 13/03/2026 11:06 AM

Country Lebanon

Commissioning section MSF-SWITZERLAND

Copyright MSF

Usage Rights (MSF) External Media, MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available no

Project section OCG

Editor's rating ★★★ (F)

Maximum Size 5712px × 3213px 4.51 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist Israel’s intensified airstrikes across Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon are causing deaths, injuries, and widespread displacement.
This escalation comes after 15 months of a so-called ceasefire that never translated into real safety for civilians. Israeli attacks and incursions have continued throughout—and are now sharply escalating again.
Blanket forced displacement orders, alongside ongoing strikes and incursions, are forcing families to flee repeatedly, often with nowhere safe to go. Many are left stranded in the streets or trapped in their towns.
In response, MSF has launched a nationwide emergency operation. Our teams are on the ground providing care through mobile clinics, distributing essential relief items, and supporting hospitals, shelters, and primary health care services.

In the Chouf district near southern Lebanon, where thousands of families have sought refuge, MSF has set up emergency mobile-clinic activities and is supporting shelters to help address urgent health and basic needs. Many of the families we meet there—especially mothers and children—have been displaced time and time again, carrying exhaustion and fear on top of immediate medical needs.

MSF teams are also present in Azarieh—abandoned office buildings in downtown Beirut that have once again become a collective shelter. Here, many people were already struggling financially before the escalation, and displacement has pushed them further into hardship. Families describe overcrowded, ill-equipped shelter conditions, the uncertainty of returning to areas still under fire, and the impact of evacuated hospitals—especially for people who need regular treatment, chronic disease medication, or specialised care.
In Azarieh, our mobile teams provide medical consultations and sexual and reproductive health services, alongside mental health support and dedicated activities for children. Our logistics teams have distributed hygiene kits, mattresses, and blankets, and continue to deliver water trucking and drinking water on a near-daily basis.

The escalation is also affecting MSF staff directly, many of whom have been displaced themselves. They are showing up to provide care and assistance while coping with the same insecurity.

Across the country, MSF is providing similar emergency assistance in informal gathering sites, collective shelters, and primary healthcare centers, as needs continue to grow.