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

ZOUK MOSBEH, Lebanon — Almost made homeless duringIsraeli bombingthat badly damaged her home in Tyre, southern Lebanon, two years ago, Rose El Khoury salvaged what she could and rebuilt.

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 beenforcibly displaced from their homes in Lebanon, mainly in the south, amid a sweeping aerial and ground assault by Israeli forces as Israel looks toestablish 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 Lebanonhave 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 crossings remain.

Israeli warplanes struck the strategic Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani River in southern Lebanon. (Ali Hashisho / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)

Israel says the buffer zone is necessary to keep the threat of Hezbollah's rockets away from its border, and its Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that the hundreds of thousands of families displaced from the south will not be able to return to their homes, or what is left of them, until the safety of the residents of northern Israel can be guaranteed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed across Lebanon and over 4,000 injured since the current war began, according to the Lebanese government.

"It is devastating," said El Khoury, who is now living in a single room at a temporary shelter in Sehayleh in the Keserwan District, northeast of Beirut, with her three children, ages 8, 6 and 4. She says they have struggled to get access to enough food and basic supplies.

"There is no place to go back."

Dire circumstances

Humanitarian workers on the ground have described dire circumstances for hundreds of thousands of people displaced across the country, with many sleeping on city streets and in cars in and around the country's capital, Beirut, as aid groups call for more funding to prepare for the possibility of "long-term displacement."

"Even if there was some sort of ceasefire, we already know that there are some regions in the south that have been taken over," Dr. Tania Baban, the Lebanon country director for the Chicago-based nonprofit MedGlobal, told NBC News in a phone interview Friday.

"So, now you have the concern of people who will not be able to — I hope not — but possibly ever go back to their land," she said.

Abbas Bazoun, 46, said he, his wife and their four children have been living out of their van for weeks now after being displaced from their home in Deir Aames in southern Lebanon.

Awatef Bazoun, 6, with her dog. The family now live out of a tent after being displaced from their home in Deir Amess, southern Lebanon. (Courtesy of Abbas Bazoun)

He said they were barred from bringing their family dog into shelters and, refusing to abandon their pet, had little choice but to sleep in their vehicle.

"My dog is very dear to me, and I cannot give him away," said Bazoun. He said his family still had yet to learn whether their home remained intact, but that his small shop selling fruits and vegetables had been destroyed in Israel's offensive.

He said his wife has been left traumatized and suffered a "nervous breakdown" from living through the Israeli fire. "We faced a lot of bombing before we left," he said.

Sectarian tensions 'brewing'

Meanwhile, humanitarian groups have also warned of growing sectarian tensions, with displaced people being turned away from communities they have sought refuge in over fears they could potentially be Hezbollah members.

Multiple groups, including the United Nations and MedGlobal, previously told NBC News that they had heard of local municipalities seeking to discourage residents from renting homes to displaced people coming from the south over fears they could be targeted if suspected Hezbollah members were among them.

The New York Times separately reported this week that the Israeli military has told leaders of Christian and Druze communities in southern Lebanon that they can remain in evacuation zones, but has pressed them to force out any Lebanese from neighboring Shia Muslim communities seeking refuge in their communities.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on the allegations.

"I think there's a lot of anxiety. There's a lot of concern," Imran Riza, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said in a phone interview on Friday.

"Compared to 2024, there is much more of a sense of insecurity and tension amongst both the host populations and the displaced population," he said.

Dany Makhlouf, a social activist from Achrafieh, a Christian neighborhood in Beirut, said people there did not want shelters set up in the area after past "issues" during previous rounds of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He said in some instances, displaced people had "put Hezbollah flags in the schools, which created tensions among the residents."

"Remember, we belong to different political parties, and to us, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into this war and previous wars," he said.

Israel occupied southern Lebanon until 2000 and has frequently launched attacks on the area in recent decades, striking out at Hezbollah, which was first founded in the 1980s when Israel occupied southern Lebanon following attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli military. Hezbollah has long supported the destruction of Israel.

The Lebanese government vowed in 2024 to disarm the militant group as part of a U.N.-brokered effort to bring the previous conflict to an end, but there has been little progress in doing so since.

Bechara Gholam, the mayor of Rmeil, a Beirut neighborhood in the area of Achrafieh, said there were no shelters for displaced people there.

Gholam said that if displaced people do seek to rent apartments in the area, their names are sent to the government for confirmation that they are not known to be involved in "any activity related to Hezbollah." If they are cleared, Gholam said, "we don't have any problem."

"The security of our neighborhood is a priority to us," the mayor said.

Baban said she was growing increasingly concerned about the "local tension that is brewing" and by reports of Israel trying "to ignite that type of sectarian tension."

Meanwhile, she worried what would happen to displaced families if Israel does press on with a longer-term occupation of southern Lebanon.

"To be honest, we're all hoping for a miracle," she said.

byNeo

in

April 03, 2026

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

ZOUK MOSBEH, Lebanon — Almost made homeless duringIsraeli bombingthat badly damaged her home in Tyre, southern Lebanon, t...

5.8 magnitude quake hits Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing 8 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 rattled parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan late Friday, killing at least eight people in Afghanistan, authorities said.

The region ishighly seismically active,and quakes have caused thousands of deaths in recent years. Friday's earthquake had an epicenter in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of the Afghan city of Kunduz, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Hafizullah Basharat, a spokesman for the Kabul governor, said eight people were killed and a child was injured when a house collapsed on the outskirts of the capital. He said all were members of the same family.

Kabul is roughly 290 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of the epicenter. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from areas closer to the epicenter. The area is remote, and it can often take several hours before local authorities can relay information back to Kabul.

With the epicenter at a depth of over 180 kilometers, the quake jolted a wide swath of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan, it was felt in the cities and towns of Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in Pakistan.

Afghanistan's Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said Kabul and provincial health authorities had been put on alert.

Last August,a 6.0 earthquakethat struck a remote, mountainous part of eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people, leveling villages and trapping people under rubble. Most casualties were in Kunar province, where people typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys.

In November,a 6.3 earthquakestruck Samangan province in northern Afghanistan, killing at last 27 people and injuring more than 950. It also damaged historical sites, including Afghanistan's famed Blue Mosque in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and the Bagh-e-Jahan Nama Palace in Khulm.

On Oct. 7, 2023,a 6.3 quakefollowed by strong aftershocks in western Afghanistan killed thousands of people.

Impoverished Afghanistanoften faces difficulty in responding to natural disasters, especially in remote regions. Many homes in rural and outlying areas are made from mud bricks and wood, with many poorly built.

byNeo

in

April 03, 2026

5.8 magnitude quake hits Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing 8 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 rattled parts of northern and eastern Afghani...

As freed prisoners celebrate in Cuba, human rights groups demand clarity and release of protesters

HAVANA (AP) — Katia Arias buzzed with hope on Friday morning as she gathered at the gates of a prison on the outskirts of Havana, waiting with other families for their loved ones to be freed in one of thebiggest prison releasesby the Cuban government in years.

Damian Farinas, right, walks out of La Lima penitentiary alongside other pardoned prisoners after their release in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member after being released from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Pardoned prisoners sit in a taxi to return home after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Emilio Alejandro Leyva, a pardoned prisoner, right, hugs his mother Katia Arias Mendoza after his release from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A pardoned prisoner kisses his daughter after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

APTOPIX Cuba Prisoner Release

When her 20-year-old son Emilio Alejandro Leyva walked out of the doors of the detention facility with dozens of other prisoners, bags and a small release document in hand, she wrapped her arms around her son, who was detained for a robbery, for the first time in years.

"It has been so difficult, but today God has given me so much joy," said Arias, 43, breaking down in tears. "Today, I feel so happy. This is how all mothers who will have their children released today should feel."

The outpouring of joy from families comes the day after Cuba's government said it was going to release 2,010 prisoners in what it said was "humanitarian gestures" ahead ofHoly Week; it wasn't immediately clear how many were released on Friday.

The release comes as the Cuban government navigates extreme pressure and a crippling oil blockade by the Trump administration, which has openly expressed thedesire for regime changeand the release of those arrested for protesting.

It was unclear whether any of the prisoners released Friday are among the 1,214 people activist groups say are imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba. The government denies holding political prisoners.

Uncertainty over released prisoners

On Friday, detainees in the La Lima prison on the rural outskirts of Havana said they were woken up at 6 a.m. and heard their names called out. Hours later they were walking into the arms of loved ones awaiting them in front of blue prison gates.

The majority of prisoners interviewed Friday by The Associated Press were not serving time for political charges, though it's uncertain how many of those released were protesters — often charged with public disorder, contempt or terrorism. Many of the more than one thousand people the activist organization Prisoners Defended has registered as detained for political reasons were protesters from the2021 mass demonstrations on the island, which were met with widespread arrests by the government.

Sporadic protests have broken out in recent months as the island sinks into a deeper crisis. In one March incident, protestersburned the headquarters of the communist partyin central Cuba, leading to five arrests.

The lack of information over releases on Friday fueled frustration among human rights and opposition groups, who said the releases were a good sign, but fell short of real change.

"The government presents it as a humanitarian gesture toward prisoners, not as the release of political prisoners," said Manuel Cuesta Morúa, leader of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, the island's main opposition platform. "By doing so, it mixes things up to avoid giving the impression that it recognizes political imprisonment in Cuba."

The group has demanded a government amnesty law and says that people who were previously freed are often placed under house arrest or live under conditions where they can't speak freely.

During aprevious release of 51 people in March, organizations monitoring prisons in Cuba noted that 22 had political motives in their cases.

The nongovernmental organization Justicia 11J wrote in a statement Friday that no partial release can be considered progress "as long as the criminalization of the exercise of fundamental rights persists."

"Although every release represents immediate relief, especially for families, in a context marked by the severity of conditions in the country's prisons … we warn that this gesture does not constitute a change in the repressive policy of the Cuban state," the organization said.

US pressure on Cuba

The releases come as U.S.-Cuban tensions are running high. The Trump administration has suffocated the island by imposing an oil blockade,pushing the already stricken island to the brink, crippling hospitals and increasing the number of islandwide blackouts.

Cubans were offered a brief moment of relief this week when U.S. President Donald Trump said the government allowed a Russian ship carrying a nine to 10 day supply of fuel to the island. It wasn't clear if the Cuban or Russian governments made any concessions to allow the shipment to go through. Asecond Russian tankeris on the way.

Cuba periodically frees prisoners at key moments.

In January 2025, Cuba's government released 553 prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican, a day after the Biden administrationannounced its intent to lift the U.S. designationof the island nation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Cuba's government said Friday's release marked the fifth since 2011, and that it has freed more than 11,000 people.

Despite ongoing uncertainty, scenes of hope emerged outside the La Lima prison on Friday as families wrapped their arms around each other and a father planted a kiss on the head of his child swaddled in pink.

Damián Fariñas, 20, who has served the majority of his 2-year prison sentence for a robbery, was greeted by three beaming friends waiting for him on the street.

"This is freedom, a pardon, owing nothing to anyone. I'm heading out into the world," he said.

Associated Press journalists Ramón Espinosa and Ariel Fernández contributed from Havana. Megan Janetsky contributed from Mexico City.

Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

byNeo

in

April 03, 2026

As freed prisoners celebrate in Cuba, human rights groups demand clarity and release of protesters

HAVANA (AP) — Katia Arias buzzed with hope on Friday morning as she gathered at the gates of a prison on the outskirts of...

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