With each passing day, the ticking time bomb of displaced Syrians in Lebanon seems closer to exploding.

On the face of it, everyone is part of the problem. On July 26, 2013, Ninette Kelley, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon, held a joint press conference with Luca Rends, country director for the UN Development Programme, at UNHCR headquarters in Beirut. Both presented alarming numbers on the Syrian refugee crisis that also pointed to its exacerbation and further deterioration.

As of July 19, UNHCR had registered some 530,000 displaced Syrians, with approximately 96,000 more in the queue. Their figures are increasing at a steady pace, but on the other side, the capacity of Lebanon to take in more of them is almost zero. At this point, it will already require $530 million to tackle the tragedy that has resulted in 600,000 Syrians being displaced. The concerned international parties have provided a mere 26% of this amount so far.

From the perspective of Lebanese governmental institutions, the assessment is even more disastrous. It is believed that the number of displaced Syrians is in fact double the figures publicly mentioned due to undocumented infiltrations across the border, the inability of the individuals to register with the UNHCR, and displaced jihadist, extremist fundamentalists and various other armed opposition members clandestinely using areas of Lebanon for rest and to logistically regroup and stock up before heading back to battle in Syria. This is due to the lax security situation along the Lebanese-Syrian border, in part due to the inability of both countries to control that part of their territory and because some Lebanese are militarily involved in the war.