AMNA NAWAZ: We return now to the wider impacts of# the war with Iran, which has reignited fighting## between Israel and the Iran-backed# extremist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Beyond the more than 900 reported dead in Lebanon,# nearly one million there are now displaced.

Among## them are some of the roughly 170,000 migrant# workers not counted by the government.

GEOFF BENNETT: For many, Lebanon was# supposed to be a place of refuge,## a chance to escape the war or build a better# life.

Now violence has found them again.

Special correspondent Simona# Foltyn reports from Beirut.

SIMONA FOLTYN: This Jesuit church has been# a parish for migrant workers for about 40## years.

Now, as Israeli bombs rain down# on Beirut, it has become their sanctuary.

FATHER DOUG JONES, Saint Joseph Jesuit Church:# We welcome migrants in these spaces.

They## usually don't stay here.

But that's where we# -- we give what people need.

And, right now,## people need housing and food and a safe place.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Around 200 migrant workers are# sheltering here.

They came to Lebanon looking## for stability and work from countries around# the world plagued by conflict and poverty.

Almas is from Ethiopia and works as a cleaner# in Beirut.

She lives in Jinah (ph), a seaside## neighborhood that came under Israeli# bombardment in the first days of the war.

ALMAS ASAMINU, Ethiopian Migrant Worker# (through translator): I was very scared.## I was sleeping in my undergarments.

I ran out,# grabbed my c.. ran to the seaside.

There were so many people.# Then I came here at around 3:00 in the morning.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Brother Michael Petro runs the# shelter as part of the Jesuit Refugee Service.

MICHAEL PETRO, Jesuit Refugee Service: Almas# has called me.

I saw her number.

I knew, OK,## when I wake up, people are going to be here.# That is exactly what happened.

On Monday morning,## by the time I woke up, there were already# several dozen people in the church.

And so we knew by the end of the day# we were going to be completely full.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Schools turned government# shelters are off-limits to the migrant community.

ALMAS ASAMINU (through translator):# They don't accept me because I'm a## foreigner.

The school shelters are# only open to Lebanese and Syrians.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Many here have# nowhere else to go, not in Lebanon,## not in their home countries.

Almas' husband is# Sudanese and was killed when he went back to## his home region of Darfur.

Returning# to Ethiopia isn't an option either.

ALMAS ASAMINU (through translator): I# married a Muslim, and I'm a Christian.## My brother and my family didn't accept# that.

That's why I have to stay here.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Migrant workers in Lebanon are# governed under the kafala or sponsorship system,## a restrictive and exploitative legal framework## binding their legal status# directly to their employer.

The migrant community ranks among the most# vulnerable people in Lebanon during the best## of times.

On any given day, they grapple with# abuse, racism and discrimination, all enabled## by the so-called kafala system, which grants# their employer or sponsor significant control## over their lives.

Now, these vulnerabilities# are felt much more acutely during times of war.

When this latest war broke out, the church was the# only shelter in Beirut that would accept migrants.

MICHAEL PETRO: Migrants always fall through# the cracks in the humanitarian system here in## Lebanon.

Part of that is that the -- is the --# exactly what you're talking about, is the way in## which the legal structure here is designed# to exploit and to make migrants invisible.

Their invisibility makes it such that people don't# see them as anything more than people who serve,## right, people -- they're not people to# be served.

They're people who serve.

SIMONA FOLTYN: The church is located in# Beirut's Christian area of Ashrafiyeh.

The## closest Israeli strike hit a building nearly 300# yards away in an adjacent Muslim neighborhood.

MICHAEL PETRO: Yes, we felt it here# in the church.

Windows rattled,## set off car alarms.

You can feel it# in your body when it's that close.

SIMONA FOLTYN: Authorities in Ashrafiyeh# have largely refused to take Shia Muslims## fleeing a war amid fears that Israel# might start targeting Christian areas too.

Though marginalized, the migrants are# excluded from the sectarian equation.

MICHAEL PETRO: And the political tensions# that are existing right now around displaced## persons and the conflict in Lebanon, their# invisibility allows us to welcome them,## right?

So the tensions that are coming with other# displacements are not affecting migrants as much.

SIMONA FOLTYN: In a world where religious# and sectarian rifts appear to be widening,## the church is a microcosm of peaceful# coexistence.

In the evening, the Muslim## community gathers for iftar to break# their fast during the month of Ramadan.

This woman fled the Sudanese war in# 2023 with her husband and three kids.## Her home in the capital Khartoum# was destroyed, her uncle killed.## Lebanon seemed like a safe option back then.# Her husband found work as a building attendant## in the south.

Now their town is one of# dozens under Israeli evacuation orders.

She wanted to remain anonymous.

WOMAN (through translator): There# were calls instructing us to leave## the area.

We left on foot because we don't have a## car.

We walked for 12 hours until we# met some Syrians who gave us a ride.

SIMONA FOLTYN: After a long journey and# the cold nights spent sleeping outdoors,## they too were turned away at a government shelter.

WOMAN (through translator): They said, no,## the priority is for the# Lebanese, .. SIMONA FOLTYN: It's unlikely the family# will be able to go back any time soon.

The## fighting is most intense in the south, where# Israel has launched a fresh ground offensive.

Meanwhile, the clock on their# six-month visa is ticking.

MICHAEL PETRO: But when migrants are displaced,## they lose their job, which means they lose# their residency, they lose their legal status,## they lose their home.

The minute your# contract breaks, you lose your residency,## which just makes it very difficult to flee war# if your employer would like you to stay put.

SIMONA FOLTYN: The kafala system has# forced some migrants into impossible## choices to keep their jobs or to save their lives.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm# Simona Foltyn in Beirut, Lebanon.