Europe’s fraught political landscape is a hurdle as Lebanon refugee crisis looms

Since it began at the end of September, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon has heaped more misery onto a West Asia already overwhelmed by humanitarian catastrophe. Within Lebanon, as of October 23, 2024, more than 1.2 million people have fled their homes, and tens of thousands are now trying to flee abroad.

From the European Union’s point of view, limited legal migration pathways, together with the presence of already increased migratory pressures, may well create a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis.

As these migration flows expand, Europe needs to balance immediate humanitarian needs with longer-term issues of refugee resettlement and integration. However, the continent’s current political landscape presents very difficult obstacles to making this happen.

Lebanese refugees fleeing to Syria

After the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, Lebanon became home to around 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Today this movement is reversed, as the Israel-Lebanon conflict is pushing both Syrian refugees and Lebanese residents over the border into Syria.

As of October 21, 2024, an estimated 425,000 people had fled Lebanon, crossing the nearest available border into Syria. Additionally, around 16,700 Lebanese residents have sought refuge in Iraq.

The Israel-Lebanon conflict is still in its early days, and many of these refugees are, for now, going wherever they can. However, they illustrate the...

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