Essential items donated in Tyre to benefit 1,500 internally-displaced people

As winter looms in Lebanon, UNIFIL’s Italian peacekeepers have donated a number of items including blankets, food, medicines and hygiene kits to hospitals and authorities in south Lebanon for the benefit of those affected by the recent violence across the Blue Line.

At a ceremony in Tyre yesterday, the mission’s Sector West Commander, Brigadier General Stefano Messina, handed over the items to the Disaster Risk Management Unit of Tyre, Jabal Amel Hospital, and representatives of the Bint Jbeil Municipality.

The donated items will benefit about 1,500 internally-displaced people.

The violence between Hizbullah and the Israel Defense Forces that erupted in October 2023 and escalated in September forced an estimated 900,000 people – including more than 500,000 people in south Lebanon alone – to flee to safety. Since the cessation of hostilities agreement of 27 November, many have returned to their homes.

The items donated yesterday were purchased with funds from the Italian Ministry of Defense. A significant portion of the donation, however, was made possible with thanks to the contributions from Italy-based charities such as “Volontari Aiuti Umanitari” (Civitanova Marche), National Association of Cavalry Veterans (ANAC – Salerno Section), the National Association of Civilian War Victims (Turin Section), as well as other organizations and entrepreneurs from the Italian province of Benevento.

Often times, such funds raised by UNIFIL’s former Italian peacekeepers through local charities are channeled through UNIFIL’s Italian contingent to spend in south Lebanon.

President of the Tyre Union of Municipalities Hassan Dbouk, Bint Jbeil Mayor Afif Bazzi, and Director of the Jabal Amel Hospital Faraj Hamadeh expressed appreciation for the support of the UNIFIL Italian peacekeepers, especially during such a delicate time as thousands of lives have been upended by the more than year-long violence across the Blue Line.