Humanitarian needs in Lebanon have reached unprecedented levels after a night of intense attacks on the capital, Beirut, in which thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes.
ActionAid’s Regional Campaigns Coordinator, Sabine Abiaad, who lives in Beirut with her family, said:
“In the past 24 hours, we have seen the most difficult and terrifying period since this escalation in attacks began. Israel’s continuous bombardment lasted throughout the night, leaving our children, families and loved ones in a state of extreme stress and panic. The psychological toll of this war is severely undermining our and our partners’ ability to respond to the growing humanitarian needs.
The needs on the ground are growing rapidly. Hospitals are under immense pressure, struggling to cope with the rising number of wounded. Schools have been converted into shelters, but there is not enough space for the increasing number of displaced families. Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, who have sought safety in Lebanon, are being denied help, with many forced to sleep on the streets or cross the borders back into Syria.
Some of our partners were forced to immediately suspend [their] operations and evacuate yesterday after Israel launched attacks on southern areas of Beirut, leaving thousands of families without the urgent assistance they so desperately need. Their operations remain on hold today as the intensity of the attacks continues to rise.”
ActionAid is calling on the international community to push for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the protection of civilians and humanitarian aid workers, to put an end to the suffering.
ENDS
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About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working with more than 41 million people living in more than 71 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.
