Hijazi, Akra, and members of the municipal council inspect the expansion works at the Saida Vocational School and the Zaatari High School Saida Municipality – Media Office

The Mayor of Sidon, Engineer Mustafa Hijazi, accompanied by Deputy Mayor Dr. Ahmed Akra, and members of the Municipal Council Rami Bashasha, Majed Abdel Jawad, Taysir Zaatari, Khaled Afara, Mohammad Shamas, Ahmed Shuaib, and the Director of the Disaster and Crisis Risk Management Room, Ms. Wafaa Shuaib, conducted a field visit to the shelters at the Sidon Vocational School and the Zaatari High School. The purpose of the visit was to monitor efforts to increase the capacity of the existing centers.


The delegation inspected the expansion and equipping works that were carried out according to the directives of the Sidon Municipality, under the direct supervision of the Lebanese Red Cross and the Arab Scout Association, in cooperation with the Maarouf Saad Foundation. This expansion aimed to create additional spaces and equip them with the necessary supplies to accommodate a larger number of displaced families who continue to arrive in the city, and to ensure their shelter in humane conditions. At the conclusion of the tour, Engineer Hijazi stated, "Given the increasing pressure and the city reaching its maximum capacity, it was imperative to find quick and practical solutions within the existing centers. Today, we see the fruits of coordination between the municipality and our partners in the Red Cross and the Arab Scouts, and we thank them for their rapid response and tremendous efforts in the field implementation. We have been able to increase capacity and equip additional facilities to receive our displaced people." However, he added, "While our primary goal is to ensure that no displaced person remains on the streets, and we will continue working to improve services and expand the available scope within our resources, we are gradually losing the capacity to accommodate any additional numbers. Soon, we will have no choice but to direct people north, outside the city of Sidon, to other shelters to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the city's food and health security system, which is already under immense pressure that we are working to manage."

Date

Sat, Mar 14, 2026

Tags

Mustafa Majed Hijazi,Mohammed Hasan Chammas,Khaled Mahmoud Afara,Crisis and Disaster Management Committee