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In Lebanon, more than a million people have been displaced from their homes. As the current conflict has brought death and destruction to their doorstep, they've been forced to flee to escape the danger.
A statement on Monday (1 June) by the UN said: ‘The crisis in Lebanon is part of unrest across the wider region. It erupted on 2 March, just days after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to fire on Israel.
‘Since then, 3,412 people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. At least 88 people reportedly were killed over the past weekend.’
Three months into the conflict, fractured and failed ceasefire deals have left Lebanon facing a growing humanitarian emergency, as beyond the strikes and grief, hunger brings another source of pain.
1.24 million people without enough food
Food security experts report that close to a quarter of the country’s population is not getting enough to eat right now.
Up to 80 per cent of the markets in Southern Lebanon are no longer functioning. Those in Beirut are strained – short of supply and with prices of basic items climbing at a terrifying rate.
The church was meant for such a time as this: to be the hands and feet of Jesus – his practical presence right there in the midst of suffering.
The local church: the practical love of Jesus
And in the community of Akkar in Lebanon, this is what the love of Tearfund supporters has helped make possible.
By resourcing a local church, we have enabled them to provide 500 mattresses and 2,003 blankets to 390 displaced families (1,638 people).
For exhausted, frightened families who have had to leave behind everything they owned and the jobs that provide for them, having something comfortable to sleep on and the warmth of a blanket to rest under brings some respite.
One father tells us what it has been like for his family.
Where can we go?
‘It was a very difficult situation, having to run because of the airstrikes. Like many other families, we had to leave suddenly without any warning or time to prepare.
‘We are in a very difficult situation now too as displaced people, and we hope it will end soon.
