Lebanon: Humanitarian scale-up urgently needed after almost two months of devastation
Following the announcement of a temporary ceasefire, a fragile sense of relief is overshadowed by uncertainty and caution among people in Lebanon. The humanitarian and medical needs of hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon remain overwhelming. In southern Beirut, people are moving back and forth between their shelters and homes, collecting what they can and preparing to return to the sites of displacement if the situation worsens. People, particularly in southern Beirut, the Bekaa and south Lebanon, have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones and over a million have been forcibly displaced due to Israel’s continuous attacks.
While Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams across Lebanon are adapting their response and assessing needs as people continue to move across the country, we continue to call for an urgent scale-up of humanitarian aid and unhindered access of aid to people in need across the country.
People traveling south are queuing in traffic. Uncertainty remains high. Many do not know if they will find their homes standing or destroyed. Although a pause to attacks may bring some relief, people’s humanitarian needs remain critical and immense. This includes the psychological impact of months of trauma caused by the killing, displacement and lack of access to basic necessities.
Even before the escalation in early March, the so-called ceasefire existed in name only, as ongoing attacks by Israeli forces continued to devastate people’s lives. More than 64,000 people were still internally displaced due to Israel’s incursions and occupation in south Lebanon, while attacks on reconstruction equipment and other civilian facilities prevented recovery in many areas.
Since March 2, more than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 7,000 injured as of April 10, according to local health officials. On April 8 alone, large-scale strikes by Israeli forces across Lebanon accounted for one-fifth of the casualties recorded since early March. MSF teams are working in Rafik Hariri university hospital, Beirut, and Jabal Amel Hospital, Sour, to support the local healthcare system to respond to critical needs. Together with hospital staff and workers, our teams have treated patients with life-altering injuries, including severed limbs and severe organ trauma. Israeli forces indiscriminate strikes in densely populated areas have not spared civilians, while attacks on healthcare have killed and injured medical workers.
At the same time, more than one million people have been forcibly displaced. Many had to flee at moment’s notice, often with only the clothes they were wearing, leaving behind their homes and belongings. Months spent in overcrowded shelters or makeshift tents on the streets have worsened people’s health due to poor hygiene conditions, inadequate shelter and prolonged psychological distress.
The consequences of displacement during war do not end when people try to return home. Some will not be able to return, as their homes have been destroyed, while others are not able to even reach their villages in the southern border at all because of Israeli forces occupation. Economic hardship, loss of work, the trauma of fleeing suddenly, uncertainty about the future and absence of safety all have a severe impact on people’s mental health. Many people continue to experience stress, anxiety, depression and symptoms of severe-traumatic stress.
