Lebanon: Persecuted Christians and Lebanese Civilians Face Danger and “Humanitarian Catastrophe” as Israeli Campaign Against Hezbollah Continues
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Christian aid groups in the Middle East have warned that, amid the ongoing Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah, the humanitarian situation in southern Lebanon has reached an unprecedentedly dire scale, Christian Today (CT) reports. Moreover, together with Lebanese civilians, millions of Christians who came there to escape persecution in surrounding countries are now “on the run yet again.”
In a website statement, the UK-based Help The Persecuted charity said its War Refuge Centre and safe houses in Lebanon are expected to be full in the coming days. “Lebanon is home to millions of persecuted Christians who have fled countries like Yemen, Syria, and Iran,” HTP says. “No longer safe in Lebanon, they are on the run…yet again. Our War Refuge Center and all of our safe houses will be full in a matter of days…and we are looking for new places to host believers in need of safe shelter.”
Meanwhile, the Germany-based Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Catholic aid organization provides vital food and medical aid to Christian communities in Aid Ebel, southern Lebanon. “There is no hospital in the area, no Red Cross, and we have only three hours of electricity a day. That means no internet, no water,” Sister Maya El Beaino of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary told CT.
For its part, the UK-based Tearfund Christian charity is working to meets the needs of people suffering the effects of Israeli bombs in southern Lebanon, CT reports. Safa Hijazeen, Tearfund’s Regional Director for the Middle East, told CT: “People in Lebanon are terrified and confused, waiting for death and destruction to arrive. Lebanon was already on the verge of collapse; now it’s heading towards a humanitarian catastrophe.”
“Families in Lebanon are normalising war, it’s their daily bread now,” Hijazeen added. “Tens of thousands of children are missing school because it’s not safe to go out – instead they’re learning to tell the difference between a sonic bomb or another type of missile overhead. The impact of the airstrikes in Lebanon will last for a generation.”