Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) is responding to an appeal from its partner, Jesuit Refugee Service-Middle East and North Africa (JRS MENA)* for support in its relief efforts among refugee and local marginalized communities in Lebanon. The escalation of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has caused mass displacement in parts of Lebanon.
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As a result of the significant attacks throughout the country over the past week, JRS Lebanon has suspended its regular programmes and shifted to an emergency response, said Fr Daniel Corrou, SJ, JRS-MENA Regional Director.
JRS-MENA, whose regional office is in Beirut, has begun distributing basic hygiene kits and mattresses to evacuees. It has also been distributing food in shelters close to JRS shelters located in safer areas and provided temporary shelters and services to internally displaced migrants, vulnerable citizens, and JRS staff who were among those who were forced to flee their homes.
By Friday, September 27, JRS was able to reach 3,428 displaced individuals who have taken shelter in Bar Elias, the Arrupe Migrant Center, Qabelias Elementary School, and other areas.
“We will need support for this in the short-term and long-term,” said Corrou. In the coming weeks and months, JRS will continue to provide emergency relief, as well as emergency cash assistance, temporary shelter materials such as mattresses and pillows, and psychosocial support. It also plans to provide non-formal education activities in child-friendly spaces within collective shelters, school buildings and other safe spaces.
The need for temporary shelter and emergency supplies “is increasing by the hour,” said JRS. Tens of thousands are fleeing southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and other areas following a week of intense clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, according to a JRS report sent to the Xavier Network, the Jesuit network of mission and international development offices, of which CJI is a member. CJI is coordinating its Lebanon response with the Xavier Network.
Lebanese authorities told the news media that the Israeli air strikes in the last two weeks have killed 1,640 people, including 104 children, and wounded 1,645 people. Both the UN and Lebanese authorities reported that over a million people have been forced to flee their homes.
“The scale and urgency of health and humanitarian needs will increase,” in the coming days as civilians experience forced displacement, trauma, disrupted access to health care, food insecurity, and lack of access to clean water and sanitation, JRS said.
“Many of the Syrian refugees and migrant workers whom we have assisted over the years are feeling extremely helpless, lost and trapped in the current situation,” said JRS. “Children, who have already lived through situations of profound distress, are in urgent need of psychosocial support.”
As part of the Lebanese Humanitarian International NGO Forum, an independent coordinating body of 65 international NGOs, JRS has called for an immediate ceasefire.
“The toll on civilian lives is immense, and without swift action towards peace, the risk of a broader regional escalation increases,” said JRS. “As we look to an uncertain future, we remain committed to accompanying those in need and we pray for peace in the region and for a return to the essential work of reconciliation.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants, adding “an all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.”
More than 30,000 Syrians and Lebanese fleeing the fighting have already crossed into Syria from Lebanon, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
According to news reports, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and Israelis had already been displaced in October, when Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging attacks across the southern Lebanese border. The attacks came in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
*JRS MENA is currently present in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and offers a range of services, including child and adult education, psychosocial support, emergency assistance, accompaniment, and advocacy for refugee rights.
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