Cyril Bassil with CARE International Lebanon shares a firsthand account of how the current conflict is taking an immense psychological toll on communities.
“Each airstrike is not just a new danger: it brings back traumas from previous conflicts, including past wars and the Beirut blast. Even small triggers, like a door slamming, cause people to jump in fear, reliving past experiences of violence and loss. The psychological impact is compounding rapidly, especially among children, the elderly, and those already vulnerable.
The situation on the ground in Lebanon is devastating. Many internally displaced people, including elderly individuals, are being forced to sleep on sidewalks or are collapsing in the streets from sheer exhaustion. Children are exhausted, dehydrated, and terrified after 2 days of relentless stress and displacement. Many have fled their homes without any possessions, leaving them completely vulnerable. Families are trapped in vehicles for hours, desperate to reach safety, with no relief from the surrounding chaos. Women and girls are sleeping on the streets with nothing, no mattresses, no access to toilets, and no certainty of their next meal.
Those who remain in their homes face similar struggles: sleepless nights, fear of being forced to flee, and anxiety over whether they will be next. People live in constant terror of further escalation and violence, of losing loved ones, and of having no safe place to sleep.
The mental health of Lebanese communities, already severely strained by years of conflict, economic crises, and social tension, is now further deteriorating under these attacks. Anxiety, trauma, and despair are widespread. In Beirut, the mood is one of pervasive fear, uncertainty, and sleepless nights.
The combined physical and psychological toll is immense. With my colleagues at CARE, we are witnessing this crisis firsthand. The attacks have left deep emotional and physical scars, and without urgent humanitarian support, the suffering of Lebanese communities will only intensify in the days and weeks ahead.”