Question: Syrian refugees in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley thought life couldn't get much harsher. But that was before winter storm "Alexa" moved in. The rain and snow have since made things even more miserable. Scenes of despair are all around: One young girl, sockless and in slippers, trudges through the snow gathering what's left of it for water. Later, she'll need it to cook with. Across the road, huddling close to the makeshift tents that will barely keep out the rain, let alone protect them from the cold, three teenage boys describe the appalling conditions they're living in. "There's nothing for us to get warm with," Ahmed tells me. He's from Homs and is wearing nothing more substantial than a hoodie. His friend Abdullah, also from Homs, adds: "We need heating appliances. We need winter clothes for the kids. The adults can take the cold, but the kids can't," he said. Aid workers have been quick to mobilize, fanning out across the hardest hit areas in Lebanon. According to the UN's Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Lebanese Armed Forces, the UNHCR and their partner NGOs have been able to speed up the distribution of additional emergency shelter kits - including plastic sheets, timber and tools - to thousands of refugees living in tents in the Bekaa, eastern Lebanon, so far the region most affected by the storm. The U.N. says that they too are being hampered by the poor conditions. Emergency teams are dealing with blocked roads, and they say, alternate shelters are being prepared. CNN iReport: Refugees brace for snow. "For the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Lebanon, as well as those in neighboring countries and the displaced in Syria, a storm like this creates immense additional hardship and suffering," said Amin Awad, UNHCR's Middle East and North Africa bureau director. "With Lebanon's help, we're doing everything we can to get rapid additional help to people who most need it." But the refugees in this particular makeshift camp in the Bekaa tell me help hasn't come fast enough. They say they're still waiting. Close by, adults chop any firewood they can as children, many of them with nothing but slippers on their feet, try to distract themselves from the cold. Some, like sister and brother Khadija and Amjad, from Aleppo, crave the remnants of a childhood long forgotten; they make the most of the frosty conditions by building a snowman. For others though, the needs are more basic: they seek warmth and food. According to the UNHCR, Lebanon is the largest Syrian refugee-hosting country in the region, with 838,189 Syrian refugees either registered as refugees or awaiting registration. So, that means that the country of Lebanon, with a population of just over 4 million, has now grown to over 5 million people due to the growing number of refugees. And, that number is climbing. The UNHCR says that, unlike other countries neighboring Syria, there are no established refugee camps. Instead people are living in the community in nearly 1,600 different areas. Indeed, one of the biggest problems faced by Syrians who've escaped the war at home and come to neighboring Lebanon is that the Lebanese government won't allow for the construction of official refugee camps. Despite continued requests from aid organizations, Lebanese political leaders are too fearful that camps for Syrians will become permanent, just as camps for Palestinian refugees, who began escaping to Lebanon in 1948, did. As the sun begins to set over the ramshackle tents, more fear is setting in. One of the worst winters on record has only just begun. For these desperate souls, the night ahead will be darker and colder than ever.

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Winter storm "Alexa" has brought snow and rain to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Region is home to thousands of people who have fled the civil war in Syria. One out of every four people living in Lebanon is now a Syrian refugee. Many are living in makeshift camps, with little but flimsy tents to keep out the cold.

Lebanese authorities Friday raised the death toll from a car bombing the day earlier, saying at least 22 people were killed and hundreds injured in a southern suburb of Beirut. Thursday's bomb rocked an area known as a stronghold of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, the Lebanese army said. At least 228 others were injured in the terrorist attack, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces said. There was a heightened security presence Friday in Beirut and other areas of Lebanon, but tensions appeared lower than on Thursday evening. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to address a large rally Friday in the southern Lebanon town of Aita al Shaab, close to the border with Israel. It's unclear if Nasrallah will respond to the bombing, which appeared to target Hezbollah, and whether, if so, his words will provoke more anger against the movement and its involvement in Syria's civil war. The previously planned rally is being held to mark the seventh anniversary of Hezbollah's July 2006 war with Israel. Along with Shiite-dominated Iran, Hezbollah is helping Syria's government fight rebels, whose ranks are dominated by Sunnis. After Thursday's blast, a YouTube video surfaced in which three masked men holding weapons claimed they are part of a group responsible for the attack. They stood before a large Arabic sign containing the Islamic creed, "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah." The group, which calls itself the Brigade of Aisha, Mother of Believers, accused Hezbollah of being aggressors. Aisha, the last wife of the Prophet Mohammed, is especially revered by Sunni Muslims. In its YouTube post, the group called Nasrallah a "pig" and said he works on behalf of Iran and Israel. "A message: To our brothers and sisters in Lebanon: Stay away from anything to do with Iran -- whether in Beirut or outside Beirut," it said. CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the video or the men's claims. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut tweeted condemnations of the attack. Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian conflict has angered some in Lebanon, and many Lebanese fear that the group could be the target of more attacks in future. People living near the scene of Thursday's blast told CNN they worried that if a car bomb could be brought into this neighborhood, which Hezbollah tightly controls, then others might follow. Many Lebanese see the attack as another indication that Syria's civil war is spilling over its borders. Lebanon is divided along the same sectarian lines as its neighbor. Lebanon's army said its units responded immediately to the bombing Thursday evening, setting up a security zone and beginning investigations. Civil defense units were trying to rescue some citizens stuck inside their homes due to the fire resulting from the blast, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. The explosion came about a month after a car bomb injured dozens of people in the pro-Hezbollah neighborhood of Bir El Abed in a southern Beirut suburb. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reported from Beirut, Lebanon. CNN's Yasmin Amer reported from Atlanta.

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Answer: NEW: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to address a large rally. The Lebanese army says a car bomb caused the blast. An unknown group claims responsibility in a YouTube video. The area is a Hezbollah stronghold.