Action Against Hunger broadens its humanitarian aid to displaced people in Lebanon amid escalating hostilities

A new level of escalation of the crisis has been reached in Lebanon.  Action Against Hunger have immediately had to expand its emergency response from a focus in the south to Beirut and the Bekaa valley as well. The priority must be to de-escalate the violence between all parties and respect of humanitarian workers, otherwise we will face a yet another humanitarian disaster, according to Action against hunger.

Over 550 people were killed in a single day, almost as many as in the whole past year. This level of escalation and civilian deaths in such a short period of time have not been seen since the country’s 1990 civil war ended.  Some Action against hunger staff have had their homes affected by nearby shelling.

Some 120,000 people have already been internally displaced, with many more thousands adding to this number on Monday night alone. In the last year, the number of internally displaced people in Lebanon has grown by 1,800% and this number increases by the minute. All of these people face challenges in finding adequate shelter, sufficient food and water and a bed on which to rest.

“We are still seeing enormous numbers of displaced people arriving to collective shelters and last night our teams were already distributing basic needs from 10pm until 2am to shelters in the outskirts of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, such as blankets, mattresses, water and hygiene items” says the Director of Action Against Hunger in Lebanon, Suzanne Takkenberg.

Many water facilities in the south, including renewable energy systems for pumping water, have been destroyed, cutting off access to clean water for more than 118,000 people as of August, a figure that is expected to rise with the events of recent hours.

The destruction of more than 1,800 hectares of agricultural land, 340,000 farm animals and 47,000 olive trees has significantly affected food production, especially in the South and Nabatiyeh regions, the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) have reported. 

Lebanon was already facing severe food insecurity caused by the economic crisis: an estimated 1.14 million people will face high to critical levels of food insecurity by the end of 2024, with many farmers unable to access and cultivate their land for security reasons.

“The destruction of essential civilian infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications, health, education, electricity and water facilities has very serious implications for people’s lives and may constitute an act against international humanitarian law” explains Suzanne Takkenberg

Even before this escalation, Lebanon was responding to one of the world’s largest hosting crises, with the highest number of displaced people per capita in the world, sheltering 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

“Large numbers of Lebanese families have been displaced, and we are aware that the Syrian refugee population, who are a very vulnerable group in the country, have struggled to move and find alternative shelter. This is why Action Against Hunger’s response will target the entire population in need, regardless of their nationalities,” explains Suzanne Takkenberg

Action Against Hunger, which has been present in the country since 2006 in both rural and urban areas and has continuously been providing emergency response to displaced people since last October . By mid-September, before the latest escalation of hostilities, Action Against Hunger teams had managed to distribute nearly 600,000 litres of drinking water, more than 95,000 hot meals and some 8,500 blankets, among other basic commodities, as well as cash transfers to more than 7,500 people affected by displacement and violence.

The Lebanese Government has activated the emergency plan and Action Against Hunger is in continuous coordination with the authorities, the UN and other humanitarian organisations to provide an efficient response to those most in need, including for those in schools and other available buildings converted into collective shelters across the country.