by Amani Yehya, Wassim Abou-Kheir
Abstract
Lebanon, one of the smallest countries in the Middle East, has been grappling with a series of crises, each progressively worsening daily life and professional activities including scientific research. Economic collapse, political instability and public health crashes have impacted academic institutions, research facilities and laboratories. Despite all, the Lebanese research community has demonstrated resilience and adaptability, ensuring the continuity of scientific work under exceptionally difficult circumstances.
What is already known on this topic:
- Research in crisis settings is highly vulnerable to disruption.
What this study adds:
- This study describes how research was sustained during active conflicts in Lebanon.
How this study might affect research, practice or policy
- It provides practical insights to support research resilience in similar settings.
Introduction
Lebanon has endured prolonged periods of instability since the 1980s, with recurrent military conflicts and economic uncertainty reshaping the country. The most recent crisis, which began in 2019, led to an accelerated financial breakdown. The rapid devaluation of the Lebanese currency, banking restrictions and hyperinflation severely impacted all sectors including academic and research institutions. The latter faced budget cuts, reduced funding for scientific projects and the loss of many talented personnel who were forced to leave their positions due to extremely low salaries. Political instability further exacerbated the situation, marked by civil unrest and anti-government protests affecting daily academic operations. A few months later, the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 further worsened the settings. Lockdowns, movement restrictions and supply disruptions hindered laboratory operations, delayed ongoing experiments and limited access to essential research materials. While the country was struggling to tackle these challenges, the August 2020 Beirut port explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, further exacerbated the existing hardships. Despite the compounded crises, our research community has demonstrated great resilience and adaptability, ensuring the continuity of scientific work.
A critical turning point was reached in September 2024 when Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, marking it the sixth Israeli invasion since 1978. The invasion followed nearly 12 months of ongoing conflict along the southern border but sharply escalated on 23 September 2024, with an all-out war breaking out. The Israeli bombardment began in southern Lebanon and quickly spread to multiple regions reaching the capital Beirut and its suburbs. The situation severely disrupted our personal and professional plans, leading to new unexpected obstacles (see Figure 1). We, the researchers at the American University of Beirut (AUB), found ourselves near the conflict, facing multiple threats to our lives and research activities.
Figure 1. Research amid crises in Lebanon. A visual representation of the challenges faced by the Lebanese research community from 2019 to 2024, including the economic collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut port blast and the Israeli war.
Regardless of any political perspectives, we aim in this paper to share our experiences as Lebanese researchers at AUB during these overlapping crises, particularly during the 2024 Israeli attack, highlighting both institutional and personal resilience in overcoming challenges, identifying key barriers to research continuity during this period and providing evidence-based insights for research institutions facing similar crises worldwide.
This paper draws on first-hand observations made by the authors during the 2024 Israeli attack on Lebanon. Throughout the crisis, they remained physically present on campus and in regular contact with colleagues across multiple research labs at the Faculty of Medicine, AUB, both in person and remotely. Observations emerged through routine peer communication, inter-lab discussions and institutional updates shared by academic leadership. No formal data collection tools or predefined methodologies were used; rather, this narrative is based on lived experience and sustained engagement during the crisis. It reflects shared challenges and institutional responses, avoids reference to identifiable individuals and offers practical insights for research communities facing similar crisis conditions.
Editor’s note
This is a very long, very detailed, excellent paper about how the Lebanese research community survived and continued to work in spite of the destruction rained down on them and on the country by Israel. It is well worth reading, but it is too long for us to be able to provide excerpts, or even a few pages, because of the length and extent of the detail involved. But it is well worth reading.