Lebanon Humanitarian Crisis

Leaflets were dropped by Israeli warplanes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, asking the population to leave. Shelling of the southern suburbs continued all night and included the area of Ouzai, the entry point to Beirut International Airport as well as one of the airport runways. Air raids on the north east of Baalbek, hit a power plant in the western part of the Beqaa, in addition to houses and civilian structures.

According to the Lebanese High Relief Committee loss of life has reached 900, the injured now number 3,400 and the displaced are reported to be 1,400,000 (300,000 of whom are located in private houses with family or friends or in rented houses).

Shortages of fuel, electricity and water are increasingly being felt. Black market prices are expected go sky high as the fuel crisis intensifies. Market activities have slowed down as people fear unexpected air raids and shelling, especially after the destruction wreaked in the so called "safer areas".

Emergency Activities

MECC continues its relief distributions as far as the situation allows. The MECC warehouse is full of supplies and volunteers are packing and preparing parcels. The damage to bridges and highways and the suspected further damage of side roads will further affect communication between regions.

A pilot project was launched a few days ago in Saida, Beirut and Mount Lebanon ensuring water and sanitation in 4 centers for the displaced (2 in Saida and 2 in Beirut) thanks to the technical assistance and guidance of the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) team currently in Lebanon.

There is close co-ordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Minister of Social Affairs, Mrs. Nayla Moawad, has been highly appreciative of the work carried out by ACT/MECC and is ready to facilitate the work in any way possible.

It is expected that the current appeal will be revised next week and that a psycho-social component will be included as the needs are very high. Furthermore, the Minister of Social Affairs has given high priority to this issue, mobilizing well–known psychologists, psychotherapists and educators as well as requesting volunteers from among university students to assist in the centers for the displaced. MECC also intends to include a request for medicines as the supplies in the country are now very low.

Co-ordination

The MECC Emergency Committee/ICNDR Team and ACT/CAT team have been working on the organizational chart for the Emergency Operation. Working procedures and logistics have been established as well as the Memo of Understanding with NCA regarding the water/sanitation project. A security management plan for MECC and expatriate staff is being developed.

The MECC Emergency Committee/ICNDR team and ACT/CAT team have been working in co-ordination and with the support of the NCA team on water/sanitation and communications, a DanChurch Aid (DCA) team on logistics and fundraising and a Christian Aid (CAID) advisor on security. The team has also been in contact with the UN system, the local authorities and other relevant organizations responding to this crisis.

Due to the increased insecurity in the country, the ACT/CAT team comprising John Damerell (consultant), Rolf Berglund (seconded by Church of Sweden) and Dominic Nutt (seconded by CAID) will have to leave the country earlier than planned.

Other responses

ACT member, the International Orthodox Church Charities (IOCC) reports that they are responding to the situation through their office in Lebanon distributing relief packages. IOCC has indicated their interest in participating in the ACT Appeal and they have been requested to co-ordinate with MECC.

ACT member, Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) reports that, through a volunteer, they are supporting MECC efforts in Syria to assist Lebanese refugees. They also report that the Hungarian Government will allocate funds to assist the affected population in Lebanon. HIA are planning to contact and co-ordinate their response with MECC in Lebanon.