Lebanon’s Fragile Truce: NRC Plea for Permanent Peace
- Ingrid Jones
- Middle East
- D.O.C Supplements - Trending News
- January 23, 2025

A fragile truce between Israel and armed groups in Lebanon stands on shaky ground as the region grapples with the aftermath of prolonged conflict. The 60-day ceasefire, set to expire on January 26, has offered temporary relief from widespread hostilities but failed to alleviate the suffering of over 113,000 displaced individuals. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has urged that this truce must not only be extended but evolve into a permanent ceasefire to secure lasting peace and stability for Lebanon’s beleaguered population.
The situation on the ground remains dire despite the formal cessation of major hostilities. Reports of ongoing Israeli military activities have undermined the spirit of the ceasefire. According to the NRC, at least 29 civilians have been killed since the truce began, and persistent attacks continue to destroy homes and critical infrastructure. Maureen Philippon, the NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon, described the toll on civilians as intolerable. “While the ceasefire seems intact on paper, civilians in Lebanon continue to be killed and their homes blown up by the Israeli military,” she said.
In southern Lebanon, where the presence of Israeli troops in dozens of villages has left many residents in limbo, the conditions are particularly grim. Displaced families, scattered across the country, await the opportunity to return home, only to face uncertainty about the state of their villages. Nazem, a man displaced from a border village, captured the widespread sentiment of despair: “I’m waiting second by second, not by the minute or the hour, to return to the village, knowing that my house was swept away.”
The human cost of this prolonged conflict has been staggering. Over a year of violence has destroyed nearly 100,000 homes, disrupted essential services, and left children without education. Farming communities, which form the backbone of Lebanon’s rural economy, have been devastated by damage to agricultural land. The NRC has emphasized the urgent need for short-term recovery efforts, including cash assistance, water system repairs, and rebuilding homes, alongside long-term measures to address trauma and ensure education for displaced children.
The continued military occupation of southern Lebanese villages remains a significant obstacle to recovery. Residents face restrictions on movement and warnings against returning to their homes. Philippon reiterated the need for immediate action: “Lebanese villagers are still being warned against returning to their homes and lands, while many others don’t even know what happened to the house they left months ago. Israel must withdraw from these villages so that thousands can go back.”
The broader implications of the ceasefire are clear. Without international intervention and a commitment to transforming this truce into a permanent peace agreement, the cycle of violence threatens to resume, further exacerbating Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis. For people like Rakad, who has been displaced from the border village of Yarine for 16 months, the hope of returning home is tinged with uncertainty. “We are all waiting for the 27th to go back, kiss the soil of our land, and breathe the air of our village,” he said.
As the truce deadline approaches, the international community must act decisively to ensure that the hard-won pause in violence is not wasted. The stakes are too high for Lebanon and the region. Failure to secure a lasting peace risks plunging the country back into the chaos and despair from which it is desperately trying to emerge.