The extended ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel is a welcome respite for many families and businesses, yet for many, the cost of war is still felt every day.
Months after trying to recover from the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, renewed violence has again displaced families, driven up prices and shaken confidence in an already fragile economy.
In Beirut's Hamra district, displaced shop owner Mohammad Maatouk is fighting to keep his business running. Even amid the ceasefire, his falafel business has been pushed into survival mode.
"Before the war, things were cheaper than they are now. The situation has become much harder. Everything has gone up: oil, gas, vegetables, pickles, plastic," he said.
For Maatouk, the challenges of being displaced from his home in Dahieh, south of Beirut, are compounded as he strives to keep working in a city where everything costs more.
Deliveries are harder, roads feel less safe, and ingredients are more expensive, but raising prices too much risks losing customers who are also struggling.
"We are still trying to sympathize with people, to feel their pain, because we are a part of the people," said Mohammad.
Hamra, in the heart of Beirut, has become one of the places absorbing people displaced by the renewed fighting — from Dahieh, the south, the Bekaa and other affected areas. That has brought more movement to cafes, shops and streets, but it also means more pressure on rent, food, electricity and basic services in a city that was already stretched.
"When those refugees come, the economic sector boomed, you have the cafe booms and the supermarket worked more. I don't want to say that we have had more influx of cash, but usually there has been more liquidity in the market and there has been more liquidity in the souks and in the supermarkets. Now, unfortunately, these people are not looking for jobs. They're not working," said Maan Barazy, an economic expert.
What appears to be a surge in business activity in Lebanon is not necessarily economic recovery. Much of it reflects survival spending by people displaced once again, even as the country attempts to rebound from the last war.
Renewed fighting, even amid the fragile ceasefire, is now damaging tourism, trade, agriculture and infrastructure -- the very sectors Lebanon needs to rebuild confidence.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said Saturday that the cumulative toll from Israeli attacks between March 2 and April 25 had reached 2,496 killed and 7,725 wounded.
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight between April 16 and 17, following weeks of intensified cross-border fighting linked to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the current 10-day ceasefire would be extended by three weeks.
Pain persists as Lebanon's displaced families struggle to survive
