Fleeing Israeli Bombs, the Displaced in Lebanon Search for Safety

At dusk, the parking lot of Tripoli’s Quality Inn is packed with cars and families milling about.Children’s shouts fill the air, reminding some of better times, when the hotel hosted weddings and birthdays parties.Now, though, the cars in the lot are dusty and battered, the families sit on patches of grass, their faces worn with worry, and the children play in a drained swimming pool.

That is because the Quality Inn has been transformed into one of the biggest shelters in Tripoli for displaced Lebanese fleeing Israeli bombing in the country’s south.“I am lucky.I am with my whole family, and we just want this war to end so we can go home,” said Hassan al-Aaker, 54, voicing a rare note of optimism even though he has no idea whether his house near the southern coastal city of Tyre will still be standing when he finally does go home.In Lebanon, the displaced are practically everywhere.

In Beirut, the capital, where many are staying, they have set up makeshift tents on the corniche by the sea, crafting shelters out of stray metal poles, bits of awnings and blankets.In the city’s parks and squares, some families have placed floor coverings on the ground, anchoring them with cases of water and folded blankets.

Others are taking shelter anywhere that they can, mostly in schools but also in unfinished buildings....