Lebanese Pack Bags and Stock Up on Medicine and Food Amid Fears of a New Israeli Escalation

Amid fears that Israel may intensify its attacks again, many residents of Lebanon are keeping bags packed, stocking up on extra food and medicine and keeping their electronic devices charged. The anxiety is strongest in southern Lebanon, in areas that were hit hard in previous Israeli attacks.

Aya, a resident of Abbasiyeh in southern Lebanon, stayed in her home in March despite the risks when Israel intensified its war. She says that at one point her neighbour's house was targeted by an Israeli attack.

Attacks subsided after a ceasefire was announced in April, but the sounds of war have not ceased, Aya said. "There's always drones around and sounds of detonations, but we've grown thick skin," she said.

In recent weeks, fears have intensified around a potential third Israeli intensification since 2024. Aya said her family has prepared extra medication for her grandparents, in case a new round of conflict makes it difficult to obtain.

Aya also said she would leave her home if Israeli attacks intensified again, rather than stay as she had before, and that she has been thinking about leaving Lebanon. "I don't have the energy for this anymore," she said.

The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah and Israel have been at war since October 2023. Since then, Israel has killed around 9,000 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, mostly during escalations in the autumn of 2024 and in March and April 2026.

Israel invaded Lebanon during each offensive and has since occupied up to 10 kilometres of territory, where it has established a so-called "Yellow Line". Below that line, Israel continues to destroy towns and villages, and it has already made border areas uninhabitable, possibly for years to come.

The ceasefire was announced in April, just over a week after Israel launched more than 100 attacks on Lebanon in less than 10 minutes, killing more than 350 people. Then in June, Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-brokered framework agreement to set up "pilot zones", as part of which the Israeli military would withdraw from those areas and the Lebanese army would move in to disarm Hezbollah.

Following the ceasefire and framework agreement, active fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has eased, despite Israel's ongoing attacks and destruction of homes and infrastructure in the far south of Lebanon. Those who live above the Yellow Line are mostly out of the line of fire but hear constant explosions and drones, and at times have struggled to access their land.

In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump has reportedly considered launching another round of attacks on Iran, in coordination with Israel. Iran has warned that if such an attack happens, it would retaliate against targets in the region. This has led to questions over whether Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, would return to conducting its own attacks against Israel.

Israeli officials have also accused the Lebanese army of failing to meet its part of the framework deal, something the Lebanese army denies, in what analysts say might be an effort to build justification for another bombing campaign in Lebanon.

"When it comes to Lebanon, Israel doesn't need that instigation," Lebanese political analyst Mohamad Bazzi said. "It destroyed more of the south under the ceasefire of April 17 than before it."

In July 2024, Ramez, who did not want to use his real name for security reasons, was in his bedroom in Haret Hreik, in Beirut's southern suburbs, when he heard loud explosions; soon after, the neighbouring building collapsed on his apartment. Since then, he has stayed in his family's second home, about a half-hour drive southeast of Beirut.

Ramez said his family has postponed returning to his home in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, over concerns the attacks could restart. He is keeping his batteries and power banks charged, his water supply steady for months and his car's petrol tank full. Other people from Dahiyeh or the south said they keep go-bags packed.

Karim Safieddine, a non-resident fellow with the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, said people have been planning for a few months: Dahiyeh has not filled with people in the past few months, at night it always empties a bit, and everyone has a very delicate, very quick escape route.

While general anxiety has gripped many in Lebanon over another round of intense fighting, people are also feeling the economic crunch. The World Bank said in August that it expects inflation in Lebanon to rise to 17.5 percent this year.

Jad Dilati, a Lebanese analyst from Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, said some families have continued to pay rent for apartments in other parts of Lebanon in order to secure alternative accommodation in case another war breaks out. But after three years of war, he said, "that's a privilege that not everyone can afford".

Analyst Mohamad Bazzi warned that as this cycle repeats itself, people get worn down and exhaust their savings and their goodwill, which adds to the possibility of a social explosion. "It is a combustible mix that could explode through something unexpected," Bazzi said.