Police Attempt to Evict Hundreds from Abandoned Hamra Building

Police in Beirut’s Hamra commercial district forcibly entered an abandoned building on Monday to evict hundreds of people displaced by the ongoing war with Israel. These individuals had been squatting in the building for several weeks.

Lebanese authorities have established numerous shelters to house the displaced population, but the sheer volume of people—now reaching nearly 20% of the population, or around 1.2 million—has overwhelmed the available facilities. Many fled their homes following an Israeli escalation last month, adding to the hundreds of thousands already displaced from southern Lebanon, Bekaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Many of these people fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Government-run shelters, which are currently housing close to 200,000 people, are operating at full capacity. While some displaced individuals have found refuge with friends and family, many others have resorted to setting up temporary shelters on beaches and in open spaces. With winter fast approaching, they are increasingly desperate to find proper shelter.

During the eviction, clashes erupted between the police and some of the displaced people who refused to leave the building. One person collapsed and had to be transported by ambulance, while a woman threatened to jump off the balcony, fearing the overcrowded government shelters where she believed conditions were unsafe and disease-ridden.

The sudden eviction was unexpected, and its exact cause remains unclear. However, Lebanon’s Interior Ministry stated that it would not permit the unauthorized occupation of private property, even amidst the ongoing displacement crisis.