Lebanon studying pre-fabricated ‘villages’ for families displaced by the war

The Lebanese government said Wednesday it was mulling establishing at least two pre-fabricated “villages” to help shelter some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by intense Israeli bombing.

Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who heads the government’s disaster management unit, said a “working paper” outlined options for shelters, including “setting up ready-made homes on some open, public land”.

“The matter depends on a number of criteria… related to the question of infrastructure as well as social and security” issues, he said in a statement released by Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office.

“There are two locations… where pre-fabricated houses can be set up in cooperation with friendly countries, including Arab countries that have expressed readiness to cover the construction of these villages,” he said, without specifying which countries.

It is the first time such a proposal has been floated since nearly a year of cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah escalated dramatically last month.

A year of violence has prompted some 1.2 million people to flee, mostly since September 23, according to Lebanese officials.

More than 400,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring Syria, according to Lebanese figures.

Many of those displaced inside Lebanon are staying with relatives or renting accommodation, but those with no alternative are sleeping on the streets.

More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23.

Even before the escalation, Lebanon was in the grips of a five-year economic crisis, that has pushed many into poverty and left the government struggling to provide basic services.