Families seek shelter on the streets of Beirut as Israeli bombardment continues

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Families seek shelter on the streets of Beirut as Israeli bombardment continues

时间：2024-10-05 09:01 来源：未知作者：admin 阅读：次

In short:

Almost one fifth of Lebanon's population — more than one million people — have been displaced by Israeli air strikes on the country.

Many are seeking shelter in makeshift encampments on the beach or by the side of the road, and 100,000 have fled to Syria.

What's next?

UNICEF and other international agencies are continuing to call for an urgent cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.

On the streets of Beirut, families seek shelter in makeshift tents along the city's seaside promenade after their homes were destroyed by Israeli strikes.

More than one million people across Lebanon have been uprooted from their homes since hostilities intensified between Israel and Hezbollah on September 24, the UN estimates.

That is almost one fifth of the population of Lebanon.

Families rest on Beirut's corniche after fleeing the Israeli air strikes.

Of those, the UN believes around 100,000 have fled over the border to Syria.

The figure includes 60,000 children who arrived in Syria exhausted and dehydrated, the country already grappling with its largest ever humanitarian crisis after 13 years of conflict, Save the Children says.

For those still in Beirut, a makeshift encampment has been set up on the beach, with scores of displaced people seeking shelter.

A displaced Syrian family at a makeshift encampment.

Others have sought refuge in a temporary shelter for migrants in St Joseph Church in the Lebanese capital, while many have simply slept under the trees in parks close to where homes were destroyed by Israeli strikes.

When evacuation warnings for Beirut's southern suburbs started to flood in from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) last week, an exodus of people fled to Martyrs' Square.

Other families fleeing the raids stayed on the side of the road.

While Beirut's corniche was once a vibrant seaside promenade, described in the seventies as the Paris of the Middle East, it is now a bleak sight.

Displaced people take shelter at a park near the site of an Israeli strike, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Kola, central Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2024.

The city is filled with lines of civilians displaced from their homes and children huddled in blankets on the pavement.

Photographs paint a stark picture of the developing crisis in the country.

They show mothers with babies and small children at makeshift encampments while smoke continues to billow over Beirut.

Making the most of what they have, the children continue to play.

Displaced children from Syria play at a makeshift encampment.

Other images reveal the devastation across the country, showing buildings and residential homes destroyed and rubble littered across the streets.

Since last October, more than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon — including over 100 children and 194 women, the UN says.

This figure, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, continues to rise.

Children severely impacted, Australian aid worker in Beirut says

A displaced child sleeps at a makeshift encampment at a beach in Beirut.

Australian aid worker Tess Ingram, who has recently been on UNICEF missions in Gaza, spoke to the ABC from Beirut.

She described the impact of Israeli bombardment on children who had been pulled from their beds at 2am to evacuate, and families seeking shelter in the capital after fleeing southern suburbs.

"When you drive through Beirut, there are a large number of cars pulled over on the side of the road and families are living out of them, as well as on the streets and encampments on the beach," she said.

There are around 850 formal shelters in Beirut and with most of the displaced seeking refugee here, more than 600 are currently full.

The site of a strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs.

"I spoke to families and children at a shelter on Tuesday and I heard heartbreaking stories of families leaving their homes under the sound of bombs," Ms Ingram said.

"One little girl I spoke to, who was 10, said she only managed to pack her teddy bear and a change of clothes into her backpack. She was frightened and all she wanted was to get home safe.

"The shelter was very full, I've been told as many as 26 people are in one room and four people sharing one mattress."

Ms Ingram, who arrived in Beirut on Sunday, was heading out to deliver vital supplies to shelters in the city after Israel bombed central Beirut overnight, killing at least six people.

The bombardment, she said, was having a severe impact on the mental health of children. With schools also closed while hostilities intensify, many are missing out on the stability they bring.

Destruction following an air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.

"One mother told me her girls, 13 and 14, were fearful every time the door in the shelter closed and it sounded like an air strike.

"Some children are not sleeping and vomiting with stress. Then there have been children killed and injured by the strikes.

"School was meant to go back this week and it didn't. School not only supports learning and development but it provides stability and is a safe space."

Iran on Tuesday fired over 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, and Israel has vowed to respond.

The IDF is currently conducting a land invasion in southern Lebanon. They claim it is a 'limited ground incursion' but there are fears it could escalate.

UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said the humanitarian situation is worsening by the hour.

Over the last week, at least 80 children have reportedly been killed in Israeli attacks, while hundreds more have been injured.

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square.

"Thousands of children and families are now living in the streets or in shelters; many having fled their homes without essential supplies and belongings," Ms Russell said. "Humanitarian conditions are growing worse by the hour.

"Any ground offensive or further escalation in Lebanon would make a catastrophic situation for children even worse. Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs.

"UNICEF continues to call for an urgent cessation of hostilities. We reiterate our call for all parties to protect children and civilian infrastructure, and to ensure that humanitarian actors can safely reach all those in need — in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law."