Lebanon’s Women Carry the Hidden Weight of War Across Generations

A ceasefire agreement reached in June has not ended the violence, with attacks continuing to claim lives and deepen the fear carried by families.

Hundreds of thousands of women and girls were driven from their homes within weeks of escalating hostilities in Lebanon, leaving behind schools, jobs, relatives and familiar communities as families searched for somewhere safer. Six months later, around 175,000 women and girls remain displaced, while Israeli airstrikes have reportedly killed or injured 3,154 women and children, destroying homes, hospitals and classrooms and leaving many people uncertain whether the next night will bring safety or another emergency escape.

A ceasefire agreement reached in June has not ended the violence, with attacks continuing to claim lives and deepen the fear carried by families. Conversations gathered by UN Women from three Lebanese women, aged 15, 32 and 72, reveal how war reshapes childhood, changes motherhood and reopens memories that survivors have spent decades trying to live with.

A teenager's school days replaced by shelling

Fifteen-year-old Carla Youssef remembers when her mornings began with getting ready for school, meeting friends and planning afternoons filled with studying or visiting relatives. Her life now follows the sounds of explosions, shelling and warplanes, while lessons take place online whenever electricity and internet access make learning possible.

Carla's family initially sought protection in the shelter at her grandfather's home in Qlayaa, keeping away from windows whenever the attacks intensified. A nearby house was later struck, killing a man and a young girl, and her parents decided that remaining there was too dangerous, forcing the family to flee once more and seek refuge in Beirut.

The family has since returned home, yet the familiar walls no longer provide the comfort they once did. Carla says what she misses most is being able to sit inside her own house without fear, knowing that children in Lebanon deserve the same chance as others to attend school, travel safely and imagine a future shaped by their ambitions rather than war.

Mothers carry their children's fear alongside their own

For 32-year-old Raneen El Khoury, displacement brought the pressure of keeping her children safe while their education and daily routines disappeared. The family moved to a safer house in Qlayaa after the conflict began, but crowded days away from school increased stress and anxiety inside the home.

Raneen survived the 2006 war before becoming a mother, yet the current crisis feels more painful because she now understands every attack through her children's reactions. When shelling draws close, she guides them away from windows, gathers them in the room she considers safest and tries to hide her own fear so they can feel protected.

The emotional strain extends beyond moments of immediate danger, entering bedtime routines, schoolwork and ordinary family conversations. Parents must answer questions about death, safety and separation while having few reassuring answers themselves, creating a burden that is rarely visible in casualty figures or displacement totals.

Older memories return as women call for lasting peace

Retired schoolteacher Marie Lteif Francis, 72, has lived through repeated wars, carrying memories of the 1977 conflict when her family home was shelled, and her 19-year-old brother was killed in front of her. Today's airstrikes and warplanes have brought those experiences back, along with the familiar fear of death and the pain of being separated from relatives.

Her attachment to her village, its people and the loved ones buried there gives her the strength to remain. She believes Lebanon's younger generations should inherit stories of love, cooperation, honesty and loyalty rather than hatred and violence, sharing Carla's hope that children and grandchildren will one day live without fear.

UN Women says it has reached more than 130,000 crisis-affected people in Lebanon since March 2026 with essential services and necessities. Support has included partnerships with 16 women-led and women's rights organizations, a network of more than 500 women peacebuilders and community kitchens operating across eight locations, where displaced women can earn income while preparing food for vulnerable households.

The organization is calling for the ceasefire to be fully upheld and developed into comprehensive peace under international law. It is also pressing for women to have full, equal and meaningful roles in humanitarian work, peacebuilding and recovery, recognising that the women holding families and communities together must have a voice in shaping Lebanon's future.