Press Release

Lebanon latest - fragile ceasefire holds as massive extent of humanitarian effort required becomes clear

Al Irhsad school - Oxfam is providing
water for the 1,250 people displaced
people who are living in Al Irshad School
in Beirut. (Shaista Aziz/Oxfam)

Oxfam and its local partners are deeply concerned for the welfare of civilians who are returning to their villages in their thousands.

Oxfam and other aid agencies working in the region have been surprised at the speed with which the one million Lebanese people, displaced by the recent conflict, are returning to their homes.

Huge traffic jams have been created across Lebanon as people struggle to get home via a road network heavily damaged by Israeli bombings. It is estimated that a 45-minute drive from Beirut to Sidon now takes seven hours.

Shaista Aziz, Oxfam spokesperson in Lebanon said: "The human misery on the ground is immense as is the logistical challenge that we face to get aid into the worst affected areas because of the shortage of fuel and the destruction to roads and bridges across Lebanon."

Oxfam staff, who had been concentrating their efforts on providing sanitary provisions, food and water to the displaced living in schools and railway stations north of the bombing, have had to quickly refocus their efforts to the south with the flood of people returning home.

Six year old Marwa and four year old
Mahmoud, watching the news. "My
children were so frightened that they
stopped eating - they would only drink
water," says their mother Abeera.
This family have been staying in the
office of one of Oxfam's partner
organisations.
(Credit: Shaheen Chunghtail/Oxfam)

Oxfam now plans to provide tents for those returning, whom they anticipate will want to live in the ruins of their destroyed homes prior to rebuilding. Water tanks and other sanitation equipment that had been intended for Sidon and Beirut will also now be redirected for use in the emerging situation in the south. However, due to the extent of the damage and the jammed road network, it is incredibly difficult for aid agencies to move large amounts of supplies. Additionally Israel has placed restrictions on the movement of vehicles in the south while a naval blockade has delayed access for two relief ships.

Aid efforts are also being severely hampered by mines and unexploded ordnance. It is estimated that up to 10 per cent of ordnance used in war doesn't explode and yesterday it was reported that 15 civilians, including a child in Tyre, had been killed after picking up or stepping on unexploded shells.

Contact / Interviews

For more information please contact:
Lynne Sharman - Oxfam Ireland's Media and Communications Officer,
Tel: +44 (0)28 9057 2891 mobile: +44 (0)7841 102 535
lynne.sharman [at] oxfamireland.org

For interviews and information call Shaista Aziz in Beirut on +96170971364

Media Releases > Oxfam Ireland Press Release