Sectarian tensions in Lebanon are soaring as tens of thousands of southern Lebanese residents flee their homes amid Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah.

There have been numerous instances of Sunni and Christian residents in safer areas of the country refusing to host or rent displaced people from predominantly Shi’ite areas. Many suspect that members of Hezbollah are among the evacuees who would make their villages targets for Israeli intelligence.

In one incident in Beirut’s Christian suburb of Ain El Remmaneh, the Lebanese army was forced to step in when residents refused to accommodate Shiites from the south. It was only after the army’s intervention that the displaced Shi’ites were evicted from homes they tried to take over.