To escape hostilities. more than 1 million people in Syria have fled their homes amid widespread humanitarian challenges after the government was overthrown.
During my five years on the front lines of humanitarian assistance in Lebanon, I have witnessed the country grapple with near-constant stress – hunger, poverty, economic downturn and disease have repeatedly brought the region to its knees. Lebanon is barely back on its feet before being knocked down again.
In September, Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes against Lebanon, marking the deadliest day since the country’s 2006 war. In recent weeks, the conflict has escalated, with strikes mainly hitting the southern part of the country and parts of Beirut, the capital. Millions are in need as winter approaches and the hostilities threaten more lives.
One year into the Israel- Gaza conflict, and the biggest escalation of violence in years in the region, Action Against Hunger is expanding humanitarian assistance to reach the most vulnerable families in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
The past few days saw unprecedented escalation of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon including the South, southern suburb of Beirut and the Bekaa, with attacks increasing in number and the scope expanding to additional areas across the country, such as Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon.
With more than 550 people, including 50 children, killed and 1,800 wounded following escalating bombardment in Lebanon, Action Against Hunger is broadening its humanitarian aid efforts.
Aid agencies and medical professionals have joined forces to call urgently for a ceasefire to allow life-saving polio vaccinations to be administered to about 640,000 children aged under 10 following confirmation of the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years, with reports of other suspected cases emerging.
