Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon: Living in Permanent Survival Mode
BEIRUT, Lebanon (June 19, 2026) — Today, Anera has released a new report highlighting how the present moment marks a critical inflection point for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Structural vulnerabilities of Palestinian refugees have converged with the impact of the 2026 war to deepen the stark inequalities facing Palestinians.
A long-standing lack of legal rights, combined with the steady erosion of services that the war has accelerated but did not begin, to forestall the future prospects of an entire generation. The report, “Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon | In Their Own Voices: Living in Permanent Survival Mode,” reflects research, data collection and roundtable consultations conducted by Anera in the months before the current escalation.
In December 2025, Anera brought together 15 community-based and international organizations to examine how funding cuts were reshaping daily life in Palestinian communities. Participants described a humanitarian landscape in which needs were rising as resources declined, with Palestinian refugees among the hardest hit. They warned that reduced support was accelerating deterioration across nearly every aspect of life faster than existing systems could respond. The subsequent escalation of war has only intensified these pressures, adding new emergency demands and underscoring how little margin for shock remains.
Years of economic misery pushed many families into survival mode, even as humanitarian institutions scaled back services under the strain of sustained funding shortfalls. For Palestinian communities, largely excluded from national safety nets, there are no viable alternatives when international aid contracts. Prevention and development programming has largely collapsed, and women and children are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden.
By bringing together the views and experiences of refugees and the organizations that serve them, this new report offers a clearer understanding of the crisis and a call for renewed coordination and investment in Palestinians in Lebanon.
SAMAR EL YASSIR IS AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS
###
For more information or to arrange an interview:
In Washington
Steven Fake
Media Relations Officer
202.266.9719
[email protected]
In Beirut
Farah Maalouf
Senior Communications Manager, Lebanon & Jordan
Tel: +961-1-426107/8 Ext:135
[email protected]
Notes to Editors:
- The full report is available here.
About Anera
Since 1968, Anera has helped refugees and others hurt by conflicts in the Middle East live with dignity and purpose. Anera, which has no political or religious affiliation, works on the ground with partners in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Jordan. We mobilize resources for immediate humanitarian relief and for sustainable health, education, and economic development efforts. Our staff are from the communities they serve, navigating the politics that constrict progress to get help where it’s needed most. We will keep building better lives until hope finds its way in the Middle East.