When airstrikes and other fighting displaced people from their homes starting in September 2024, Oxfam collaborated with a network of partners to assist people affected by conflict staying in collective shelters. The people displaced by the conflict (some of them on multiple occasions) and seeking shelter were in need of bedding, kitchen items for cooking, water and sanitation systems, and hygiene items especially menstrual products for women.
Oxfam and partners are providing clean water, cash, food, hygiene items, and repairing sanitation systems to help people displaced by fighting in Lebanon. So far, we have reached around 78,000 people with lifesaving assistance, including:
- Cash
- Food
- Bottled drinking water, and water for bathing and cooking delivered by truck to collective shelters
- Hygiene and menstrual hygiene kits
- Mattresses, blankets, pillows
The start of a conditional ceasefire in late November will allow some of the 1.5 million people displaced by this brutal war to start returning to their homes. However, hundreds of thousands of people have nowhere to which they can return after Israel razed entire villages. Oxfam is calling on the parties to the ceasefire to reach a permanent agreement so that communities can begin to rebuild their lives.
Oxfam has worked in Lebanon since 1993, in partnership with local organizations, to support disadvantaged people with cash, clean water, and sanitation systems as well as income generating opportunities, advocating for women’s rights and reproductive health services, and renewable energy solutions. We also work with Syrian and Palestinian refugees, as well as Lebanese communities, including people with disabilities and migrant workers.
We work with 30 local partner organizations in North Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut that deeply understand the needs of the communities where they work.
Over the past decade, we have responded to the multiple crises Lebanon has faced, including the Syria crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut Blast, economic crises, the 2022 cholera outbreak, and violent conflicts.
Advocating for ceasefire
Oxfam calls on all parties to the conflict to end the fighting. There must be an immediate and permanent ceasefire to stop atrocities being committed, to end the deadly and destructive cycles of violence, and to allow humanitarian agencies to respond to the massive needs of the population.
The spread of hostilities into Southern Lebanon has caused enormous damage to civilian infrastructure and devastating loss of civilian life. The escalation has severely limited the delivery of essential humanitarian aid, especially to those who live in border villages.
Humanitarian agencies and medical personnel must have safe and unfettered access to deliver services and provide urgent support in the areas most affected. Without a ceasefire, the lives of civilians, many of whom were already living with the impacts of a major economic crisis, will deteriorate further.
What challenges are the people of Lebanon facing?
4,000+
Fatalities
1.5M
People displaced by bombing
30+
Partner organizations working with Oxfam in Lebanon