BRATISLAVA, Apr 20 (IPS) – Aid groups have welcomed a ten-day ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon, but warned that only a permanent pause in fighting can allow the response needed to address the dire humanitarian situation in the country.
A ten-day ceasefire to enable peace talks between the two countries came into effect on 16 April. After that period it can be extended by mutual agreement by both the parties.
The ceasefire comes after more than a month of fighting following Israel’s response to rocket attacks by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, more than 2,000 people have been killed and 7,000 injured in Israeli strikes since March 2. Meanwhile, according to humanitarian organizations, more than 1.2 million – one-fifth of the estimated total population – are internally displaced, including more than 400,000 children, and Israeli attacks have destroyed essential civilian infrastructure and heavily strained health services.
This has deepened an already fragile humanitarian situation after years of economic problems, the Syrian refugee crisis and the previous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
And even if the attacks stopped, many people continue to face displacement, mass destruction and lack of access to basic services and real relief will only come with a long-term end to the fighting.
“We welcome the ceasefire as an important break in violence, but it is not enough. Only a permanent ceasefire will allow a response on the scale required – reaching families across Lebanon, including those in the border areas, who are the most vulnerable,” Suzanne Takenberg, Lebanon country director of humanitarian group Action Against Hunger (ACF), told IPS.
Following the announcement of the ceasefire, there have been reports of a large number of displaced people returning to their hometowns. However, aid groups warn that many people may return to find that they have no homes left, or even if they do, conditions are so bad that it will be impossible to live there.
“Families are beginning to return to their homes, but the scale of the destruction is staggering. Many have had their homes damaged or completely destroyed, with no access to water, electricity or basic services. People who fled with almost nothing are now returning in even worse conditions – facing conditions that make a decent life impossible,” Tackenberg said.
Most of the devastation has occurred in the south of the country. Israel wants to create a “security zone” to keep troops in an area about 10 kilometers deep inside southern Lebanon. Reports suggest that many villages in that area have been completely destroyed.
“This new buffer zone that Israel is talking about – from the videos I’ve seen, it’s completely collapsed. We don’t expect them to allow (people) to return there, and I don’t think people will try to go back to that buffer zone,” Elizabeth Kosar, head of country office Lebanon in Terre des Hommes, which provides humanitarian aid to children and their families in the country, told IPS.
“Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be displaced. They won’t be able to return. This is really devastating (for them),” he said.
The impact of the attacks on civilians has alarmed rights groups and humanitarian organizations.
A coalition of NGOs last week issued a report Documenting the effects of Israeli attacks on civilian populations.
It highlighted how continued displacement in the country is posing significant health and security risks, disproportionately impacting women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Reports indicate higher cases of respiratory infections due to cold temperatures in congregate shelters, cases of gastroenteritis associated with inadequate food and cooking facilities, and disruptions in treatment of patients with chronic diseases. The group said shelters are always overcrowded and lack adequate water and sanitation infrastructure, severely limiting privacy, dignity and psychological safety for residents. Additionally, about 88% of those displaced are living outside collective shelters, many of them in cars, public spaces or other unsafe settings, the groups said.
Children have been particularly deeply affected by the fighting.
Aid groups working with children have highlighted the serious problems associated with child nutrition. According to Action Against Hunger, while 24 percent of the population faces severe food insecurity, about 15 percent of children aged 6 to 23 months in displacement areas are being fed only milk.
Meanwhile, one in five children in Lebanon have been forced from their homes due to the conflict, with many suffering severe psychological distress and anxiety. UNICEF.
“The humanitarian situation for children in Lebanon is grave and extremely worrying. Over the past 46 days, children have paid a devastating price, with at least 172 children reported killed and 661 injured. More than 415,000 children have been displaced, some for the third or fourth time. Their most urgent needs are protection, health care, safe water, nutrition, psychosocial support, child protection and access to learning,” UNICEF Communications Manager Ricardo Pires. Told. IPS.
“Children have been repeatedly displaced, many under severe stress, and essential services have been severely disrupted. Health systems are still functioning, but under severe pressure. Hospitals and health workers are repeatedly coming under pressure, facilities have been damaged or forced to close, and access to care has become increasingly difficult in high-risk and isolated areas. The destruction already caused to homes, schools, hospitals, water systems and roads means that many children and “Families may continue to face severe hardship even if the fighting stops. There are serious humanitarian consequences for children and families,” he said.
Kosar said the conflict could have a long-term impact on a generation of Lebanese children.
“We still don’t know how many children have lost their parents, their caregivers. We’re visiting hospitals where children are waking up and finding out they’ve lost their parents and, you know, it’s so devastating. For those who can’t return to their childhood homes, you know, they’re not in school, missing family, they’ve lost their homes… They’re losing part of their childhood, part of their family. Losing their connection to place, to their community, has huge long-term implications for children,” she said.
As well as highlighting the harm caused to the civilian population, the NGOs’ report pointed to serious concerns regarding compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly with respect to the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attacks. Similarly, IHL provides special protection to medical and humanitarian personnel and infrastructure, yet the conflict has been marked by numerous attacks affecting health care and increasing restrictions on humanitarian access, the groups said.
They called on all parties to the conflict to adhere to IHL, while also calling for immediate, sustained and flexible funding from the international community to support the growing needs of displaced persons and survivors in vulnerable areas.
Given the damage that has been caused, international help will be vital, no matter what efforts the Lebanese government makes to help the population.
“The government will repair as best they can the cities that are in the north – again, north of that buffer zone area. They will do their best to restore, to rehabilitate, but services will be hugely affected. Eight bridges (in southern Lebanon) have now been destroyed, and the Lebanese forces have managed to put the debris together so that one car can drive at a time on the last destroyed bridge. But it is not enough to bring big trucks of humanitarian aid or to bring food and vegetables and other medical supplies. Supplies and other things they need down south,” Kosar said.
“Infrastructure has been destroyed, including in heavily populated areas. The Lebanese government will need massive assistance to restore this infrastructure,” he said.
Apart from these problems, another major concern is the fragility of the current ceasefire – within hours of its implementation, there were reports of violations.
UNICEF’s Pires said the ceasefire provided an important opportunity to improve humanitarian access and restore basic services in all areas affected by recent attacks. However, he warned that if it collapsed, there would be “a serious risk of further killing, injury, displacement and trauma”.
“Weapons must remain silent and humanitarian access and workers must be protected at all times,” he said.
IPS UN Bureau Report
© Inter Press Service (20260420044157) – All rights reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service
