Today is Conflict Resolution Day, marked across the globe as an opportunity to come together and promote peaceful conflict resolution, foster understanding, and encourage collaboration.
Right now, Lebanon and Syria need our thoughts, our generosity, and our efforts more than ever.
Lebanon crisis
The UN reports that Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis is deteriorating quickly, with Israeli airstrikes and displacement orders expanding into more regions, including densely populated areas. This is further devastating critical infrastructure and leaving civilians increasingly vulnerable.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator stated that, “in just the last three weeks, the violence has intensified, causing widespread civilian casualties, mass displacement, and extensive destruction across the country, marking one of the deadliest periods in Lebanon’s recent history”.
2,169 people have been killed and 10,212 injured since 8 October 2023, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Meanwhile, the International Organisation of Migration reports that 689,715 people have been internally displaced since October 2023. On top of this, 186,400 people are seeking refuge in 1,023 collective shelters.
Even before the recent escalation and the fighting that has taken place over the last year, the economic crisis meant that over half of Lebanon’s population was living below the poverty line. It is worth noting that there are 1.5 million registered Syrian refugees in the country – making up one quarter of the population.
Syria crisis
In Syria, more than 350,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011.
According to the UN refugee agency, in 2024 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, and 6.8 million people are internally displaced. 2 million people are living in informal settlements and camps. An estimated 90 per cent of the population lives in poverty, and 12.9 million are food insecure.
The February 2023 earthquake made this situation even worse, killing some 6,000 people and leaving nearly 13,000 injured in Syria. The infrastructure and economy, which had already deteriorated after 12 years of conflict, were further damaged.
The fighting has severely damaged cities such as Idlib and Aleppo in the north-west, and Raqqa in the north-east of the country. Meanwhile, the wider Middle East conflict has also spread to Syria, with repeated Israeli airstrikes since October 2023 resulting in fatalities and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.
Let us help the people of Lebanon and Syria
This Conflict Resolution Day, we must not only keep Lebanon and Syria in our thoughts, but also take action to help improve the lives and opportunities of people caught up in the crisis.
At Action Syria, we fundraise to provide communities in Syria and Lebanon with the medical care and education they need, every day and when emergencies strike.
Please donate now so that we can keep providing vital health, education and emergency support.
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