Islamic Relief aid workers in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley have described a night of terror for civilians as the region suffered its heaviest and deadliest bombing yet.
Last night Israeli airstrikes hit dozens of towns and villages in eastern Lebanon, with more than 60 people reported killed including young children. 120 people are reported injured and there are more bodies still under the rubble, with most casualties in and around the city of Baalbek.
The bombing has damaged major roads, restricting the efforts of aid agencies to deliver aid to survivors and people who have fled. Temperatures in the Bekaa valley have dropped close to freezing in recent nights as winter approaches, and newly displaced families urgently need blankets and warm clothing.
Farah Saifan, an Islamic Relief Project Officer based in the Bekaa valley, described last night:
The Israeli invasion and indiscriminate airstrikes are causing Lebanon’s worst humanitarian crisis in decades, and people are living in constant fear. Across Lebanon more than 2,700 people have now been killed and over 12,500 wounded. More than 1.2 million people have now been forced from their homes, with many families living in overcrowded school shelters where there is little food, clean water or sanitation. Over 400,000 people have fled to neighbouring Syria to try and escape the bombardment.
Since September Israeli bombing has spread all over Lebanon and has increased in the Bekaa valley.
Saifan says: “We’ve seen a massive increase in bombing in the Bekaa valley since September but it doesn’t receive as much attention. At night when bombs hit, there is very little information telling citizens what is happening, which has led to even greater fear and panic among civilians as they are scared for their families. At night, the sound of bombing becomes even louder. The bombs which the Israelis are using are getting more powerful and so loud that here in the Bekaa valley we can even hear the airstrikes in southern Lebanon.”
Islamic Relief is working in the central Bekaa valley, providing displaced people with food, hygiene kits and other vital aid. Across Lebanon, since the start of the response the charity has distributed food parcels to almost 16,000 families, nearly 4,000 hygiene kits, and thousands of blankets, mattresses and medical items.
