Forced from their homes by Israeli bombing, displaced Lebanese face uncertainty and sectarian tensions

LebanonForced from their homes by Israeli bombing, displaced Lebanese face uncertainty and sectarian tensionsAid groups say Lebanon must prepare for the possible "long-term displacement" of hundreds of thousands forced out of their homes by Israeli bombings.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleOver a million people displaced in Lebanon as Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah02:46Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 3, 2026, 2:24 PM EDTBy Zoya Awky and Chantal Da SilvaZOUK MOSBEH, Lebanon — Almost made homeless during Israeli bombing that badly damaged her home in Tyre, southern Lebanon, two years ago, Rose El Khoury salvaged what she could and rebuilt.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Two years later, the home in Tyre that she shared with her husband and three children is a pile of rubble.“In 2024, it was livable, even though we didn’t have the money to fix it,” El Khoury, a housewife in her 30s whose husband is serving with the Lebanese army, told NBC News in a telephone interview earlier this week. Today, she said, “my house is on the ground. So there is no hope to return.”El Khoury and her children are among more than 1 million people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Lebanon, mainly in the south, amid a sweeping aerial and ground assault by Israeli forces as Israel looks to establish a “security zone” there.‘No place to go back’Israel began its invasion after Iranian proxy group Hezbollah launched strikes on the country from Lebanon in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has escalated into a wider regional conflict.In the weeks since, fears of a long-term occupation of southern Lebanon have grown, with Israel moving to establish a buffer zone in the area, leveling homes and destroying bridges over the Litani River, which connects the south to the rest of Lebanon, while taking control of what cr...