A second Lebanese NGO, Nabaa, partners with GOAL to scale up immediate humanitarian aid for displaced people in South Lebanon as targeted airstrikes and ground incursions continue.

(Mon 18th Nov 2024) Since late September heavy ordnance has bombarded Southern Lebanon, Baalback-Hermel and parts of Beirut. The bombings were followed by a large-scale incursion into the war-ravaged country which has seen fighting across the arid terrain south of the Litani river.

Evacuation warnings have been issued to villages and towns ahead of operations and this has sent helpless civilians to flee. The orders now cover a quarter of Lebanon. The desperate Lebanese have fled north to Saida, Beirut and other safer areas but also into wide open spaces to save their lives. 1.2 million people have been reported displaced of whom 52% are female and 48% are male. Amid this growing humanitarian crisis, the death toll has surpassed 3,386 people and it has been reported that at least one child is killed every day. More than 14,417 have been reported injured since the beginning of this offensive.

There have also been attacks on 51 health facilities, especially in the South, while eight hospitals are closed. Additionally, hospitals near the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh have come within range of shrapnel from heavy bombardment of the area. Out of 207 primary health care centres and dispensaries in conflict-affected areas, 100 are now closed due to the escalating violence. The situation on the ground is now on the brink of catastrophe as understaffed and under-resourced hospitals in Lebanon are struggling to cope under the strain of maintaining essential healthcare services while caring for the ever-increasing number of injured. The medics are trying to achieve this while working in bomb damaged facilities.

In response to this emergency, GOAL is partnering with Lebanese NGO, Amel, to fund and deliver aid in Beirut and today has announced another partnership agreement with Nabaa. Nabaa is a Lebanese NGO which works with Lebanese and Palestinian communities, including refugees, ethnic and religious minorities, and other disadvantaged and marginalised groups, in Tyr, Saida, Nabatiyeh in the South, Akkar and Tripoli in the North, delivering programmes focused on enabling rights and participation, education, protection, and resilience.

Announcing this new partnership with Nabaa, Elissa Hassrouny, GOAL’s Programme Director in Lebanon said,

“Over the next four months, this crucial new partnership will enable Naaba, with €135K worth of funding from GOAL, to deliver food parcels, sleeping materials, winter clothing kits and Emergency Cash Assistance to 5,300 displaced persons in Saida in Southern Lebanon. We greatly value this partnership and look forward to an ongoing relationship and channelling more funding from Ireland through Nabaa to assist the people of Lebanon.”

Also commenting on the new partnership with GOAL, Dr. Qassem Saad, Nabaa’s General Director said,

“We welcome the partnership with Irish aid agency, GOAL, which will bolster our aid endeavors in Saida in Southern Lebanon and allow us to reach more internally displaced people in dire need. But it is difficult to comprehend and explain the scale of suffering of innocent Lebanese civilians and concerns continue to grow as strike hit new parts of Lebanon.”

For further information, please visit https://www.nabaa-lb.org/