Families in southern Lebanon are fleeing Israeli air attacks and have taken shelter in stadiums and schools in the capital, Beirut, as the US-Israel war on Iran has spread across the region.

More than 800,000 people, almost 15 percent of Lebanon’s population, have been forced to flee from their homes since Israel began bombarding the country after the Lebanese group Hezbollah launched rockets on Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah had not attacked Israel since the November 2024 ceasefire despite near-daily violations by Israel.

The escalation has dragged Lebanon back into the wider Middle East conflict just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war.

Only a fraction of those displaced, some 132,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities, are in collective shelters. The rest are scattered elsewhere: some staying with relatives, others in half-finished buildings or with host communities, and many sleeping on the streets.

The United Nations launched a $308m flash appeal on Friday to help Lebanon cope with the fallout of the war.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 850 people and wounded more than 2,100 others in Lebanon since March 2, including 107 children and 66 women, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday.