Hundreds of people have been killed in Lebanon in the last 24 hours, in a drastic escalation of ongoing Israeli airstrikes - in spite of a regional ceasefire. More than 250 people have been killed - but that number is expected to rise - and at least a thousand wounded.
One in every five people has been forced to leave home - more than 1.2 million people - since the start of the recent conflict in the region.
Jaime Abraham, Tearfund’s Country Director for Lebanon and Syria says:
“Today is a national day of mourning for people in Lebanon, and Tearfund and its partners are grieving with them. People are losing everything in an instant - their homes, their loved ones, their livelihoods. Many tell us they’re terrified and losing hope, as nowhere feels safe - the entire country is under attack.
“In a week where billions of dollars have been spent to see the dark side of the moon, the dark side of humanity is raining down on Lebanon. Here, rockets are obliterating hundreds of lives every day. It’s savage, it’s senseless and it’s entirely stoppable.
“The UK and other leaders have called for the current ceasefire to include Lebanon, they must make sure this happens. Air strikes and violence against Lebanese civilians have to stop, right now, and leaders must work towards a sustainable peace.”
The International Energy Agency says we’re in the worst oil and gas crisis for 50 years and that ‘developing nations’ will suffer the most. Jaime Abraham says Tearfund’s partners are seeing brutal evidence of that in Lebanon, a country already in desperate financial and humanitarian crisis:
“We’re seeing people forced to make impossible choices. What do you do with the last coins in your pocket? Buy fuel that’s gone up by a third, to try to escape the airstrikes? Or buy tomatoes, double the price they were last month, to feed at least some of your children?
“Tearfund works through church partners in Lebanon, who are leading with sacrifice - giving up their homes, their food, their time to help their shattered communities.
Keir Starmer is visiting the Middle East this week. Will he spend time with the people suffering the most, to look them in the eye - as our partners do every day - and reassure them the world has not forgotten about them? At Tearfund, we believe God knows each of them by name and, with the help of our supporters, we can show them they are far from forgotten.”
To find out more about how to support Tearfund’s Middle East Crisis Appeal, supporting humanitarian needs in Lebanon, Gaza and the wider region, please visit: tearfund.org/middleeastappeal
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Notes to editors:
Tearfund is a Christian charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. We tackle poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters and challenging injustice. We believe an end to extreme poverty is possible. Tearfund is also a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org.
Para 1, source: Lebanese Ministry of Health
