Lebanon: We are helping the population displaced by the bombs

Since 20 September, Lebanon has been experiencing the effects of a dramatic escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. This wave of violence is taking its toll on Lebanese civilians and as of today there are 104,000 newly displaced people, in addition to the 110,000 who have fled the south of the country in the last 11 months. Our teams are working right now to bring urgent aid to the population in distress.

Israeli air strikes in recent days, still ongoing, have hit dozens of towns throughout Lebanon, including Saida, Nabatieh, Tyre, Baalbek, the Bekaa valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, all areas where INTERSOS was already active with programmes to help the displaced population who had already abandoned their homes in the south, where the exchanges of fire were concentrated in the last 11 months.

The explosions threw people into a state of panic. They abandoned everything to flee, crammed into cars and queuing for hours on clogged roads. Tens of thousands of men, women and children – among them also some of our Lebanese staff and their families – fled the bombed areas to various parts of Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa, the North and Beirut. There are more than 104,000 new displaced persons, of whom 43,600 are housed in the 347 schools used as collective shelters – according to reports issued by the National Operations Room Platform – and 60,530 displaced persons who have found shelter in private homes. Some of the displaced people are still looking for accommodation and they’re taking temporary shelter in their cars and public areas.

Now all these people, who have fled with nothing, are in need of the most basic necessities: food, water, emergency medical kits, mattresses, blankets and pillows, as well as fuel to ensure electricity for the collective shelters and the facilities that supply water.

Our teams, including the displaced staff, immediately mobilised to assist the fleeing population: we are working in a number of collective shelters in Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa to make them suitable for displaced people, we are distributing hygiene kits to displaced Lebanese in the Bekaa and we are giving cash support to those who have lost everything to meet their most immediate needs. We are also monitoring the needs of the Syrian refugee population currently displaced in the streets or that decided to stay behind in currently unsafe areas, and we are continuing to remotely support the most vulnerable cases we were following in Tyre before the security situation in the country deteriorated.

According to the Lebanese authorities, the latest violent attacks have killed nearly 1,250 people, including at least 50 children and two UNHCR aid workers, and injured more than 5,200. A dramatic toll that is putting a strain on the country’s health system and the psychological health of the entire population.

The attacks of recent days have already caused an unacceptable number of civilian casualties, mass displacements and destruction of critical civilian infrastructure. International actors who can influence the course of the ongoing conflict must act now to contain the violence in Lebanon and prevent a regional escalation of the conflict in Gaza, which would have devastating effects on the civilian population. Without swift action towards a ceasefire, the situation will continue to worsen and, as hostilities escalate, the risk of wider regional escalation is getting closer every day.