Overview

Cross-border hostilities between the Lebanon-based armed group Hizbullah and Israeli forces escalated following attacks by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza on southern Israel on 7 October. During the ongoing economic crisis, the Lebanese government failed to adequately protect people’s rights to health, social security and housing, which had particularly devastating impacts on marginalized groups. Impunity remained widespread, including for those responsible for the fatal 2020 Beirut port explosion. The authorities escalated the use of criminal defamation and insult laws to stifle freedom of expression and retaliate against critics, particularly targeting journalists, trade unionists and activists. Authorities systematically attacked the rights of LGBTI people. Some authorities stoked hostility towards refugees.