GENERAL OVERVIEW
Southern Lebanon consists of two governorates, South and El Nabatieh; the area spans over 3,000 square km, with 264 municipalities and 12 unions of municipalities. As of October 2018, the area hosts nearly 115,000 registered Syrian refugees (71,500 in the South Governorate and 43,500 in El Nabatieh Governorate), the majority of whom live in Saida, Tyre and El Nabatieh Districts. Southern Lebanon also hosts more than 345,000 deprived Lebanese. The South Governorate hosts the highest concentration of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, with five of the 12 official Palestine refugee camps (PRCs) and 24 of the 42 gatherings located there; over 160,000 registered Palestine refugees, including 150,000 Palestine Refugees from Lebanon and over 10,000 Palestine Refugees from Syria, reside in the South. The resident population in the two governorates is mainly Sunni, with a significant number of Christians in Jezzine district and parts of Marejyoun districts, as well as smaller populations of Sunnis and Druze. The area is largely agricultural.
Remnants of both the Israeli occupation, which ended in 2000, and the subsequent 2006 conflict persist. Minefields remain, which has led to uncultivated and abandoned agricultural lands, deforestation, and deserted terrain and buildings. Anti-personnel mines along the Blue Line - the UN demarcation between Lebanon and Israel - and cluster munitions contamination continue to pose risks to civilian populations. Cross-border incidents occur on a regular basis, although no major damage has been reported. A myriad of humanitarian challenges are posed to populations living in the region, including lack of access to livelihoods and residency/legal documentation, out-of-school children, child labour, exploitation, evictions and/or threats of eviction, gender-based violence (GBV), and early marriage. Over 40 humanitarian and development actors are present in the area.