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UN Emergency Relief Coordinator calls for humanitarian corridors to address worsening crisis

21 July 2006


At a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, United Nations top humanitarian official outlined his efforts to organize humanitarian assistance for the affected population in Lebanon, including requests for humanitarian access and a planned flash appeal for funding. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, who is also United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, told correspondents that with the humanitarian situation in Lebanon deteriorating “by the day and by the hour”, over half a million people, including internally displaced persons and refugees, urgently needed assistance now. 

The failure of Israeli unilateralism

Manuel Hassassian 22 July 2006


In less than four weeks, the civil infrastructure of two emerging Middle Eastern democracies has been laid to waste, and over 400 Palestinians and Lebanese, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces. The urgency of finding a just solution to the Israeli- Palestinian dispute has never been more compelling. But if calm is to be restored, the international community must convince Israel that security comes not through warfare but through peace. While Israel enjoys the security rewards of peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, it has been strangely reluctant to pursue the same with Lebanon or the PLO. Instead, at the heart of Israeli policymaking today lies a deluded faith in the benefits of unilateral action over diplomatic engagement. 

Asylum seekers stuck in Beirut

22 July 2006


Roughly 22,000 refugees and asylum seekers are stranded in Lebanon - mainly from Iraq, Sudan and Somalia - and UN refugee agency UNHCR is increasingly concerned for their safety. “There has been a demonstration outside our office in Beirut by some of these frightened people, including stranded migrant workers, asking us to put them on a boat to Cyprus to safety,” said Ekber Menemencioglu, UNHCR’s director for the region. “We are helping with their immediate needs by directing and taking them to shelters, where they can get a roof over their heads and food packages,” he added. 

Young and old tell their tales of woe

22 July 2006


“My name is Mehdi, and I’m six years old. We left our home near the airport when the Israelis started bombing us. Bayyeh (dad) took us to school here in Beirut, and left our fan and air-conditioning back home. I don’t like the school here; it’s summer and we’re not supposed to sleep in the classroom. Here, mosquitoes bite us all night and the toilets smell. It’s very hot, and I can’t sleep. My sister and I share the same mattress; it’s low and she kicks me all night. I asked Bayyeh to take me home, so we can have air-conditioning again. But he said that the war should stop first. Do you know when the bombs will stop?” 

Displaced and desperate as bombing continues

22 July 2006


“May I have some more water?” asked Samah Al-Saad as she handed over a bucket to her neighbour, Souad Hammood, in Al-Bashoura, a crowded mainly Shi’ite area of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Hammood filled the bucket halfway and handed it back. “I just can’t spare any more,” she apologised. Shortages of food, water and basic supplies are affecting the more than 500,000 people displaced by the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon over the past 10 days, launched in response to the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah militants. 

Pattern of displacement mostly in the south

22 July 2006


Of the estimated half a million displaced people in Lebanon, some 70 percent are from southern villages, local officials say. The south of Lebanon is home to Hizbullah militants engaged in firing rockets across Lebanon’s southern border into northern Israel. Tel Aviv started bombing Lebanon on 12 July after Hizbullah militants captured two Israeli soldiers, saying they will only release them in exchange for Israel’s release of Lebanese prisoners. Hizbullah, an Islamic political party, won all 23 parliamentary seats in the south of the country in the 2005 elections. 

ICRC Bulletin No. 2 - First ICRC aid convoy reaches Tyre

22 July 2006


The continued heavy bombing in southern Lebanon, Beirut and other areas means that the situation there remains extremely dangerous and difficult for civilians. Large numbers of people are still leaving their homes and heading north or leaving the country altogether, either by sea or by road to neighbouring Syria. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent says that it expects another 15,000 refugees over the next couple of weeks. The Lebanese Red Cross is one of the only organizations that is still able to evacuate the wounded and civilians under fire. 

UN Human Rights Experts: Protect the rights of civilians

21 July 2006


We, express our grave concern that the on-going armed conflict in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza poses serious human rights and humanitarian threats to the civilian population. We call on the parties to the conflict to fully respect the principle of proportionality in the conduct of hostilities and to refrain from indiscriminate attacks on civilians causing loss of life and mass displacement. We urge them to immediately agree on the cessation of hostilities in order to permit unrestricted and secure passage of all humanitarian assistance. 

Letter to Palestinian and Lebanese filmmakers from Israeli filmmakers

22 July 2006


We, the undersigned Israeli filmmakers, greet the Arab filmmakers who have gathered in Paris for the Arab Film Biennial. Through you, we wish to convey a message of camaraderie and solidarity with our Lebanese and Palestinian colleagues who are currently besieged and bombarded by our country’s army. We unequivocally oppose the brutality and cruelty of Israeli policy, which has reached new heights in recent weeks. Nothing justifies the continued occupation, closure, and oppression in Palestine. Nothing justifies the bombing of civilians and the destruction of infrastructures in Lebanon and Gaza. 

Don't leave us alone in Beirut

Hanady Salman Beirut 22 July 2006


“So it’s Saturday. The day we fear. It seems the Israelis will have to postpone some of whatever plans they might have: the evacuations are not done yet.” Continuing her reports from Beirut, Hanady Salman recounts the stories of those taking advantage of a brief lull in Israeli bombing to return to their homes in the heavily hit southern suburb. “Some of my friends who live in the Southern Suburb went there yesterday to check on their houses and bring some of their stuff. They weren’t able to find their homes. Whole neighborhoods are completely destroyed.”