The ongoing war on Lebanon rapidly escalated once again in late February 2026 and has already caused significant human and material loss. As of early May 2026, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,727 people and injured 8,438 others¹, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Moreover, over 1.2 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes, which constitutes approximately 20% of the population². In an effort to help displaced and injured people, countless initiatives were initiated by local groups, some of which were already active in the 2024 escalation, and others were born in 2026.
These initiatives are all essential, providing necessary support to people in need. However, based on what we learned from the aid responses in 2024 and 2026, there is room for further adjustments that would help provide better services to those in need. I will be discussing some limitations that came up throughout my research, as well as elaborating on possible ways to improve the emergency response based on a conversation I had with Amal Charif, the founder and managing director of HalTek, a grassroots organization by and for people with disabilities.
Drawing from my conversation with Charif, the greatest issue with the current aid initiatives that are taking place is the lack of consideration of the personal needs of displaced people. Countless initiatives are presenting meals to the displaced, not taking into account certain needs or preferences that cannot afford to be overlooked. Many individuals have conditions limiting their diet, such as allergies, intolerances, chronic illnesses (for instance, diabetes), and mental health considerations, which are not being considered when donating food.
This issue extends further than food aid and is visible in the lack of proper accommodation for individuals with disabilities in shelters. As noted by Amal Charif, there have been many instances in which the system failed to take into consideration accessibility needs. For example, in 2024, several women using wheelchairs were allocated to a shelter with bathrooms that were too small and narrow to be comfortable and safe, also preventing them from fully closing the door when using the toilet. Not only did this violate their privacy, but it also put their safety at risk. These women were exposed to harassment and bullying, while this outcome could have easily been avoided if only we had developed in advance a comprehensive database detailing accessibility features of shelters, allowing displaced individuals to select shelters based on their needs.
Moreover, a lot of donations are being thrown away and discarded due to the misdirection of supplies. Amal Charif recounted an interaction she had with a displaced woman in 2024, who told her: “They gave me menstrual pads… I appreciate it, but… I am in menopause. They should give it to someone who needs them”. This example highlights how resources can be wasted when aid distribution is not based on actual needs. Had the woman in question been consulted, and had there been a database assessing the needs of the people in each shelter, the supplies would have been directed to someone who required them.
Another reason for the disposal of donations is the concentration of support towards one shelter and not another. Some shelters are receiving too many donations, while others are not getting any aid at all, creating a surplus of certain items in some shelters and a lack of these items in others.
This also raises concerns regarding imposing certain predetermined items upon the people, which could take away from their sense of autonomy and dignity. Individuals know best what their own needs are; the mission is to hear them and to provide aid accordingly. A needs-based approach would reduce the misallocation of resources and increase the comfort and overall well-being of individuals in shelters.
People with disabilities face countless intersecting challenges during displacement, including people who are visually impaired. Upon entering a new, unfamiliar area, visually impaired individuals typically need some time to orient themselves by navigating the novel environment recurrently, building a mental map, and identifying immovable objects like walls or doorways to know where they are. Abruptly leaving their homes and being put in a new area with no one there to assist them is very challenging and requires consideration from our part. Training volunteers to specifically be able to support visually impaired individuals, as well as assigning them to specific, accessible shelters, would be a first step towards having more inclusive resources.
Another example of the need for more inclusive practices in shelters is the education service provided for children. Several initiatives work towards the schooling of young children in shelters, but most, if not all, do not take into consideration children with special needs and neurodevelopmental conditions. These children need different approaches to schooling, with a different pace and different tools, most of which are not being offered in those school programs for displaced children.
A possible solution for all of these issues would be to create a comprehensive database where all the shelters and aid initiatives would be registered, as well as all their facilities, kinds of services, and donations. Displaced individuals would then be allocated according to their needs, avoiding a lack of accessibility and misdirected donations.
In conclusion, as Amal Charif said, the biggest issue with the current aid initiatives is “the lack of consideration for the minorities in the minority”. With such a large number of people, it is hard to stay organized and address everyone’s needs, but it is not impossible. It is time to build a system that works better, in case of another possible military escalation that would leave us unprepared.
Clara Ghorayeb
Clara Ghorayeb earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), with a minor in Gender Studies. Her interests include structural inequalities, collective care, and social issues in Lebanon and the broader region. She has also been involved in volunteer and activist initiatives focused on social and humanitarian issues.