The Israeli offensive plunges Lebanon into a humanitarian crisis, with half a million displaced

The Israeli army's insistence that Lebanese civilians evacuate areas it is bombing has produced a humanitarian crisis.

“The Israeli army’s insistence on evacuating the Lebanese territories it bombs in its declared fight against Hezbollah is subjecting the country to a humanitarian crisis”

El País

After seven days of offensive the Lebanese government records more than half a million displaced people.

El País

Many are fleeing the border area for the second time in two years, and communities say the situation exceeds the government's capacities.

Israel has reiterated its demand to clear the suburbs of Beirut and southern Lebanon after issuing a first expulsion order days ago.

The article reports that bombs killed at least 32 people on Sunday.

Experts and humanitarian organizations warn that needs outstrip available resources and that displacement risks becoming permanent for many families.

Lebanon’s official death toll has risen rapidly, with the offensive causing at least 394 deaths, including 83 children, according to Lebanese Minister of Public Health Rakan Nasseredine.

Rakan Nasseredine accused the Israeli army of 'mass violence' and of 'flagrantly violating international agreements and treaties.'

El País

Nasseredine said Sunday saw the worst Israeli attacks, noting the army bombed central Beirut for the first time since March 2 and struck a capital hotel, causing four fatalities in an attack Israel says targeted members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The Israeli army reported it launched 820 strikes against 600 targets since last Monday and asserted, without providing evidence, that it has killed 190 'terrorists.'

The troops also announced the death of the first two Israeli soldiers on Lebanese soil since the restart of hostilities.

Hezbollah said it is engaged in direct fighting in the border municipality of Aitaroun.

Israeli Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee demanded that 250,000 Lebanese residents south of the Litani River move north "immediately" and reiterated a warning to the 700,000 inhabitants of the Beirut metropolitan area.

“The Israeli army’s insistence on evacuating the Lebanese territories it bombs in its declared fight against Hezbollah is subjecting the country to a humanitarian crisis”

El País

Many communities and neighbours reject evacuation orders, with parish priest Pedro Al Raei saying, "We protect our land peacefully."

Minister of Social Affairs Hanine Sayed said 117,000 people have arrived at more than 500 official shelters and that 517,000 people have registered as displaced on a government website.

She announced Beirut Sports City would be included as a shelter.

The United Nations World Food Programme’s interim representative in Lebanon, Anne Valand, warned that "the magnitude of humanitarian needs is growing exponentially" and that the WFP’s response — which has reached 200,000 people with food assistance and emergency cash transfers — is being expanded daily.

First-hand accounts include Lio, 41, who is sheltering with nearly 4,000 others in Gobeiry.

Migration Studies Institute director Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab warned of the government’s "extremely limited capacity" and said repeated displacements could make return impossible "whether because of the destruction" of homes or because communities "cease to exist."