BEIRUT, May 6 - Mohammed's life as a gay man in conservative south Lebanon was already rife with challenges. But Israeli strikes on his hometown in March were the final straw, pushing him to flee to a rare shelter in Beirut hosting LGBT people.

Most of the more than one million people displaced by the war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah live with relatives or have rented apartments. Another 124,000 have sought refuge in government shelters, and the most vulnerable are eking out a living in the streets.

But those options are rarely available to members of Lebanon’s LGBT community, who are often rejected by their families, face discrimination by government authorities and may be struggling financially.

Though Lebanon was generally considered a relative safe haven for the LGBT community in the broadly conservative Middle East, recent incidents, including the disruption of a drag show in 2023 by an angry mob, have left LGBT people feeling vulnerable, activists say.

Israeli air raids hit the building where Mohammed was living with his brother near the port city of Sidon just two weeks after the war started on March 2.

Mohammed, who spoke to Reuters on condition that his last name not be used, said his relatives had never accepted his sexuality and barred him from having visitors over.

After their home was bombed, he fled to the Lebanese capital, where he now shares a room in a shelter run by LGBT advocacy organizations Helem and Mosaic.

“It was like a safe place. I even felt a sense of psychological relief when I arrived,” Mohammed said.

FEW OPTIONS FOR DISPLACED LGBT PEOPLE

Government shelters are designed to host families and regularly exclude those not considered part of a conventional family unit, said Doumit Azzi, Helem’s communications coordinator.

As a result, the shelter opened by Helem and Mosaic is often the only recourse for LGBT people in Lebanon.