Pointing at a shade in a room shared by two families, Ferial Zayat managed to make some privacy for her two daughters.
Zayat, 62, is living with hundreds of other families at the Nabih Berri Technical Complex in Beirut, a public school hosting the displaced from southern and eastern Lebanon, with limited daily supplies.
Zayat, 62, is living with hundreds of other families at the Nabih Berri Technical Complex in Beirut, a public school hosting the displaced from southern and eastern Lebanon, with limited daily supplies.
"We only get electricity for an hour a day, which affects water pumping and prevents us from cleaning or showering," she said.
As winter is close, Zayat feels cold at night. But she has no personal belongings as her family ran away barefoot shortly after an Israeli airstrike on the city of Tyre destroyed a building neighboring her home.
"It was a nightmare," she said.
For Laila Khatib, a woman in her 60s living in the shelter, the utmost priority is securing winter clothes for her five grandchildren.
For Laila Khatib, a woman in her 60s living in the shelter, the utmost priority is securing winter clothes for her five grandchildren.
"We cannot go back to our house as Israel is bombing Dahieh almost every day at no specific time, and we are not sure if the house is still there," Laila said.
Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching an unprecedented, intensive air attack on Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to leave their houses to shelters.
According to a report by the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Council of Ministers, the total number of registered Internally Displaced People (IDP) has surpassed 188,190, with the highest percentage of IDPs recorded in Mount Lebanon and Beirut governorates.
Nathalie Harb, a worker at the Nabih Berri Technical Complex, told Xinhua that the school hosts approximately 400 families, or 1,554 individuals, making it hard to meet all demands.
Nathalie Harb, a worker at the Nabih Berri Technical Complex, told Xinhua that the school hosts approximately 400 families, or 1,554 individuals, making it hard to meet all demands.
The shelter's director had spoken with Lebanese authorities to file a request regarding people's needs, but the government's response has been scarce, Harb said.
"Non-governmental organizations have been of great support, but more items are needed, including blankets, pillows, heating devices, and rags, especially as winter is at the door."
The donations Lebanon received from friendly countries constituted only 15-20 percent of the total needed in shelter centers, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who heads the government's disaster management unit, told Xinhua.
The donations Lebanon received from friendly countries constituted only 15-20 percent of the total needed in shelter centers, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who heads the government's disaster management unit, told Xinhua.
"Let alone if we count all IDPs outside shelters too and several of whom are in non-heated apartments," he said. "We are doing the best we can, but it is hard to please everyone," he said.
