‘You won’t be able to destroy us’: Lebanese after Israeli bombings
Aymen, a displaced resident from southern Lebanon, says he cannot imagine what will happen to the country in the future in light of the ongoing Israeli attacks.
“The future of Lebanon is in God’s hands. Nothing is clear. Look at us, we are sleeping in the streets. That’s how our life is now, and we are leaving it to God,” he said.
Francoise Azori, a Beirut resident, said the people in Lebanon will not abandon their country, striking a similar message to the one coming from Palestinians in Gaza. “You won’t be able to destroy us, whatever you do, however much you bomb, however much you displace people – we will stay here. We won’t leave. This is our country and we’re staying. Do whatever you want to do.”
Families after fleeing the Israeli air raids in Beirut’s southern suburbs
WFP mobilising food assistance for 1 million people in Lebanon
The World Food Programme has launched an emergency operation to provide meals for one million people affected by the growing conflict in Lebanon.
“A further acceleration of the conflict this weekend underscored the need for an immediate humanitarian response,” WFP said in a statement, announcing that it was distributing ready-to-eat food rations, bread, hot meals and food parcels to shelters across the country.
The bombing in Lebanon is “compounding the fragility of a population burdened by accumulated crises”, it said, adding that “as the crisis deepens, we are preparing to assist up to one million people through a mix of cash and food support”.
“Lebanon is at a breaking point and cannot endure another war,” WFP regional director Corinne Fleischer said.
Situation in Beirut ‘getting worse by the hour’
As we’ve been reporting, many residents of Beirut have been forced to live on the streets because of heavy Israeli bombardment, while hundreds of thousands have fled Israeli air attacks in the south and east.
“It’s hard to find the words to describe the situation, but it’s getting worse by the hour,” said Jad Assaf, Islamic Relief’s senior humanitarian programme officer in the Lebanese capital.
“People are camping out in parks, on the beach, or just by the side of the road,” he added in a statement.
“Hundreds of schools have been turned into shelters across the country, but many of these are now full to bursting point and are having to turn people away as they have no more space. The bombing is continuing, and we fear the numbers of displaced people will keep rising,” he added.
Assaf described the conditions at schools as “awful”, saying multiple families are sheltering in each classroom, with “100 or more people” sharing a single toilet, with no privacy for women or girls.
Displaced families shelter on a road of southern Beirut after spending the night fleeing the overnight Israeli attacks on Saturday
As drones fly overhead, Lebanon’s displaced pour into the streets
I’m about two blocks from the prime minister’s office but the sound of drones above me here is very loud – so everyone in Lebanon is feeling this threat.
The prime minister has just addressed people’s concerns speaking about the displacement that is maybe one of the biggest in the history of Lebanon. There are Lebanese in the south and Bekaa Valley who decided to leave their homes after receiving warnings from the Israeli army that they would be targeted.
Also, there are 1.5 million Syrians in Lebanon who had to leave their places of displacement because they’re already refugees. They had been living in houses, open areas, camps or schools, but have also been forced to leave and seek refuge. There are also about 200,000 Palestinians in refugee camps.
So, all these people are pouring into the streets of Beirut and other areas around Lebanon. Many of them are going to schools while some are just sleeping in parks, near the beach and on the streets.
All of this is a very heavy weight on the Lebanese government which is in a situation of bankruptcy.
