Islamic Relief teams in Beirut have been distributing emergency aid as thousands of families have fled their homes amid the escalation in bombings in the Lebanese capital.
“I am deeply saddened to watch the situation that is unfolding in Lebanon. As a humanitarian, witnessing these events, it is hard to comprehend the suffering that the population is going through,” said Islamic Relief USA CEO Ahmed Shehata. “These events only compound the economic and humanitarian situation for the worse. As humanitarians we must step up to provide aid, in order to do the best we can to support the people of Lebanon.”
The teams found school shelters very crowded, leaving families with little choice but to stay on the street.
“It’s hard to find the words to describe the situation, but it’s getting worse by the hour. People are camping out in parks, on the beach, or just by the side of the road,” said Jad Assaf, a senior program officer at Islamic Relief’s Beirut office. “Wherever you go there are terrified families who don’t know where to go to be safe. Hundreds of schools have been turned into shelters across the country, but many of these are now full to bursting point and are having to turn people away as they have no more space. The bombing is continuing and we fear the numbers of displaced people will keep rising.
Because of the overcrowding, some families are forced to sleep in playgrounds, and women and girls have no privacy and have to share rooms and toilets with complete strangers.
To alleviate the suffering, Islamic Relief has been distributing food, hygiene kits, mattresses, blankets and medical supplies. Recently, food parcels were distributed to 1,000 displaced families who have nothing and are absolutely desperate. The emergency appeal seeks to provide many more of these items to people who were directly impacted.
Over 100,000 people have been displaced across Lebanon in just five days, and more are fleeing hourly. Many families fled bombing in the south of the country and arrived in Beirut over the past few days, hoping the capital would be safer, only to suffer the massive escalation in bombing there over the past 24 hours.
Islamic Relief USA is once again calling for an immediate ceasefire across the region.
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, VA, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. Its programs benefit millions of people each year in more than 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.