Following Lebanon’s deadliest day in decades, Islamic Relief has launched a $19 million (AUD) emergency appeal. To support people affected by the escalating Israeli attacks.

More than 558 people, including over 50 children, have now been reported killed since September 23. More than 1,800 people are wounded.

Thousands of families are fleeing their homes in panic. They now seek shelter in crowded schools, as more Israeli airstrikes tear through neighbourhoods today. After almost a year of gradual escalation, more than 116,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced. They are in desperate need of aid.

Islamic Relief’s appeal is looking to raise an initial $19 million AUD to expand our efforts to provide vital aid to displaced families. With Israeli attacks on Gaza also continuing unrelentingly, Islamic Relief continues to call for an immediate ceasefire across the region. We call for all parties to respect international law and protect civilians.

Akram Sadeq Ali, Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Lebanon, says: 

“Today our team is delivering mattresses and blankets to new arrivals at some of the schools, and we will be providing displaced families with food and medical supplies for clinics. We’re exhausting all efforts to deliver aid to those affected by this crisis.”

Our Work on the Ground

Islamic Relief has been working in Lebanon since 2006. Since last October, our teams have delivered thousands of food parcels, hygiene kits, blankets, and mattresses to families displaced by the escalating attacks. Currently, our aid reaches almost 30,000 displaced people in Nabatieh, Tyre, Bekaa and Balbek. We have also distributed over 6,900 medical items to hospitals and satellite clinics.

The crisis in Lebanon has been escalating since 8 October 2023, with hundreds of Israeli airstrikes destroying some 4,000 residential buildings and significantly damaging 20,000 more. Farms and markets have been damaged, impacting food production and availability. Access to essential services such as water has been severely disrupted. Over the past year, at least 700 people are thought to have been killed and more than 6,000 injured.

The escalation in Lebanon comes as much of the population struggles to cope with the fallout from a years-long economic crisis. In 2020, a massive explosion in Beirut killed hundreds of people and destroyed parts of the city, contributing to an economic crisis that deepened in the following years. Widespread unemployment, poverty, and hyperinflation in Lebanon have left many families unable to afford even the most basic essentials such as food, water, and medicine.