More than 1 million people in Lebanon have now been forcibly displaced by ongoing Israeli bombing, ground attacks and evacuation orders over the past two weeks.
Many families are marking Eid – which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan – while homeless, grieving, and suffering extreme shortages of food, water and electricity. Islamic Relief aid workers on the ground report the humanitarian crisis is growing, with conditions in shelters increasingly desperate and aid workers under attack.
Meanwhile Islamic Relief staff report that central Beirut has been under an unprecedented level of attack from Israeli airstrikes over the last few days.
Akram Sadeq, Islamic Relief’s country director in Lebanon, said:
“More than 1 million people have fled their homes but the number is growing by the hour. Every day more areas are being bombed and ordered to evacuate. Beirut is usually a lively city, but now after 7pm it is almost deserted and all the shops shut early because they are terrified of being bombed.
Schools have been turned into makeshift shelters, but they are severely overcrowded and conditions are desperate.
As Eid approaches, people should be celebrating but most families are displaced and struggling to get food, water or electricity.
People urgently need aid, but in the past few days an aid worker has been killed, and humanitarian compounds are damaged as a result of the attacks. The Israeli government continues to issue forced displacement orders for people to leave the south of Lebanon and areas of cities including Beirut, Sidon, and most recently Tyre.
The bombing across Lebanon and now in central Beirut is unprecedented. International law must be respected – humanitarian workers and civilian infrastructure must not be targeted, and civilians must not be forced from their homes.”
The impacts of the military escalation in the Middle East are increasingly being felt around the world, and Islamic Relief is calling for an urgent ceasefire to protect civilians.
Islamic Relief is providing food, water, blankets, mattresses and hygiene kits to displaced families in government-run shelters in Beirut, Sidon, Mouth Lebanon, and the Beqqa valley. The charity is also rehabilitating water and sanitation facilities like showers in the shelters to improve the safety and dignity of displaced families, and reduce the spread of diseases.
