Frightening developments in Lebanon
"The developments in Lebanon are frightening," says Secretary General of Norwegian People's Aid, Raymond Johansen. "People are terrified. The evacuation orders sent from Israel to civilians in the areas being targeted follow the same pattern as we have seen in Gaza: it puts the responsibility on civilians themselves to evacuate from areas close to military targets they may not even know exist.”
“We have witnessed Israel's brutal behavior in Gaza for almost a year, and by now it should be crystal clear that the effects on civilians from use of explosive weapons in populated areas are totally unacceptable. This is catastrophic for the people of Lebanon, and once again it is civilians who will pay the price for this war," he says.
On 23.09, Norwegian People's Aid made the decision to temporarily close the Beirut office. Our staff are now continuing their work from home, and the assessment of reopening is being made day by day. This is in addition to the fact that all mine- and explosive clearance has been paused as a result of the situation. Our colleagues say that over 50 villages in southern Lebanon have been hit by air strikes, and Lebanese authorities have reported that among the many thousands of wounded and up to 500 killed are children, women and health workers. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes trying to escape the Israeli airstrikes and have only been able to bring the bare essentials with them.
"We are now looking at how we best respond to this crisis," says Johansen. "Our partners are already in the process of tuning parts of their activities into a more direct humanitarian response. They are ready to distribute food, cash and hygiene items to families who have been forced to flee for their lives, and in addition, some of them are gearing up their efforts when it comes to psychosocial support and work against gender-based violence," Johansen explains. "It is important to us that the efforts are locally led by our partner organizations who have both the trust, and the knowledge needed to succeed in helping those who need it the most right now," he concludes.
