As the humanitarian crisis in southern Lebanon deepens, the Kuwaiti School shelter in Saida managed by URDA welcomed a high-level diplomatic delegation seeking to witness first-hand the realities faced by displaced families and the ongoing humanitarian response on the ground.
The visit brought together French Minister Éléonore Caroit, French Ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro, UK Minister Jenny Chapman, along with UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon Imran Riza, Head of the OCHA Office in Lebanon Christine Knudsen, and Head of the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Unit in Saida Wafaa Choueib. They were accompanied by URDA Executive Director Jihan Kaisi and the Principal of the Kuwait School, Widad Jaradi.
Inside the shelter, the delegation observed a harsh and rapidly evolving reality, where families displaced from southern villages have been enduring over 100 days of continuous hardship, navigating loss of stability, the pressure of daily survival, and the growing uncertainty of return.
URDA Executive Director Jihan Kaisi described the situation on the ground as deeply volatile: “The center currently hosts more than 800 displaced individuals from various villages in the South. Yesterday, nearly half of the families returned to their hometowns with hope, only to be forced back again today following intense airstrikes driven by fear and renewed insecurity.”
She added: “At URDA, we do not see this as just a shelter it has become a home. These families have lived with us for more than three months. We have shared their daily struggles, their pain, and their hope, until they became family.”
Kaisi further emphasized that sustained humanitarian support remains a critical lifeline, essential to easing the burden of increasingly difficult living conditions.
During the visit, the delegation engaged directly with families residing in the center, listening to their voices, concerns, and urgent needs, offering a stark reflection of the depth of the crisis and the pressing need for strengthened and timely humanitarian action.
The visit comes at a time of growing international attention to displacement in Lebanon, as diplomatic and UN actors continue to closely monitor conditions in shelters nationwide amid an increasingly complex and deteriorating humanitarian landscape.
