Humanitarian Concerns Amid Rising Tensions in Southern Lebanon
On July 26, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would defer the removal of certain Lebanese citizens due to the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid the ongoing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. The deferral, lasting 18 months, allows Lebanese nationals to stay in the U.S. with the right to work.
In his memorandum to the Department of Homeland Security, Biden cited the significant deterioration of conditions in southern Lebanon as a result of ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. The conflict has caused over 100 civilian deaths in Lebanon, with hundreds of Hezbollah fighters also killed. The violence and destruction in border towns have reached levels not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict was triggered after Hezbollah expressed solidarity with Palestinians, following Hamas’s attack on Israeli border communities on October 7, 2023, which led to Israel’s military assault on Gaza.
Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed militant group, is the dominant political and military force in Lebanon.
