From Iran to Lebanon, 4 Million Displaced in Wake of US-Israel Attacks
As many as three million Iranian residents and at least one million Lebanese citizens have been forced to flee their homes. They have been displaced due to attacks by the United States (US) and Israel.
According to Al Jazeera, on Thursday (26/3/2026), the war launched by the US and Israel has killed more than 1,500 people in Iran. That figure is considered conservative, as the actual tally has not yet been released by the authorities.
However, the destruction caused by the war has also triggered mass displacement in the country. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that 3.2 million people have been displaced in Iran since the US-Israel attacks began on 28 February. That number exceeds 3 per cent of the population.
Twenty-seven days after the conflict started, aid agencies and countries bordering Iran are preparing for a potential refugee crisis as civilians begin fleeing the attacks.
In Afghanistan, most arrivals are Afghan citizens returning from Iran, citing security concerns or forced repatriation. Pakistan has only reported the entry of its own nationals or authorised traders, with no refugee influx.
Iraq has seen small-scale returns and 325 Iranian nationals crossing the border due to the crisis. Inside Iran, people have been forced to leave the ruins of their homes, and several hospitals, nuclear facilities, oil refineries, and desalination plants have been affected.
However, pressure on the ground in Iran is mounting as more than 85,176 civilian sites have been damaged since the war began, including 282 healthcare facilities, 600 schools, and 64,583 homes.
In Tehran alone, the city government told local media that nearly 14,000 housing units in the capital have been damaged and at least 6,000 people have been accommodated in city hotels.
More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon. However, Iran is not the only country where the rapidly escalating war has caused a displacement crisis.
The Israeli army has expanded forced evacuation orders for residents of southern Lebanon, from the Litani River to north of the Zahrani River, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the Israeli border. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, Israel’s massive evacuation orders now cover more than 1,470 square kilometres (568 square miles), or about 14 per cent of the country’s territory.
Israeli ground forces have also increasingly expanded their de facto occupation of parts of southern Lebanon, with Israeli authorities claiming they aim to create what they call a “buffer zone”.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the total number of registered refugees has reached 1,049,328, and the number of refugees staying in collective shelters is 132,742.
The displacement rate has exceeded the country’s shelter capacity. Many families cannot obtain accommodation and spend nights on the streets, in vehicles, or in public spaces because collective shelters are full.
More than 250,000 people have left Lebanon over the past two weeks, a 40 per cent increase compared to the last two weeks of February. Most of the outbound movement is towards the neighbouring country of Syria.
Up to 17 March, more than 125,000 people had crossed the border. Nearly half of them are children. Most are Syrian nationals, with around 7,000 Lebanese among those who crossed.