Q&A on the Middle East crisis

British soldiers assist a woman as she arrives in Limassol, Cyprus July 21, 2006. Thousands of evacuees fleeing Lebanon have flooded into Cyprus, sparking warnings by officials that the island may not be able to cope [REUTERS/STR, courtesy www.alertnet.org]

What are the humanitarian needs in Lebanon?

CAFOD’s partner in Lebanon, Caritas Lebanon, has made an urgent appeal for the humanitarian needs of the country. In Lebanon, after weeks of Israeli air strikes and artillery fire, there has been damage to infrastructure, hundreds of casualties and thousands injured in the bombing.

More than 1,000 Lebanese have been killed in the fighting, most of them civilians, and many more have been injured.

More than one million people have been forced out of their homes during the escalation of violence. Some are being put up by friends and relatives, but many are seeking shelter in public places such as schools, parks and churches.

They are predominately from Shia Muslim areas in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Shia Muslims are among the poorest people in Lebanon.

They were forced to flee their homes with relatively little. They need blankets, cooking equipment, food, medicine, and hygiene kits.

The blockade of Lebanon and the bombing of roads resulted in a shortage of basic supplies such as fuel, food, and medicine, which can now be only bought locally at very inflated prices, beyond the resources of many of the people made homeless by the fighting.

Electricity supplies have been cut in some areas, and residents must rely on generators and candles.

What are the humanitarian needs in Gaza?

With the focus on Lebanon, it is important not to forget the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, the cut-off of most of the financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority has had a devastating effect on the poor.

Shortages of electricity, fuel, food, water, medicines, and medical equipment have reached critical levels. The infrastructure is tattered; poorly functioning wastewater treatment plants have led to major public health concerns.

Furthermore, thousands of health care workers and government employees have not received salaries in months, and are barely scraping by.

The World Bank estimates that the poverty rate in Gaza could rise from the present 44 percent to as high as 74 percent of the population. The Israeli military incursion into Gaza has created further suffering.

What are the humanitarian needs in Israel?

In Israel, there have been rocket attacks on the border area with Lebanon which have resulted in up to 150 Israelis killed and hundreds injured.

There have also been rocket attacks out of Gaza. Currently, Israeli Arabs from the border area have requested some assistance from our partner, Caritas Jerusalem, who are responding accordingly.

What is CAFOD doing in Lebanon?

CAFOD has so far pledged £200,000 to its local partner Caritas Lebanon in Lebanon. Caritas Lebanon is providing emergency assistance to families made homeless by the conflict and who are currently seeking shelter in schools in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

Caritas Lebanon has been providing food, medicine, blankets and cooking equipment to around 80,000 people and has plans to increase its distribution to 120,000 people in 330 places such as schools, convents, churches, mosques or other facilities and with host families.

Field offices in the south have been working in isolation since transport and communications have been almost totally cut off by air attacks and land and sea blockades.

Caritas Lebanon has received one appeal alone from a school in Tyre which has been housing 2,000 families. Caritas aims to provide food, cooking equipment, blankets, bedding, hygiene kits and medicine.

It will also try to provide the schools with candles and arrange access to community generators in areas where electricity has been cut.

Caritas Lebanon is also supporting migrant workers and refugees in Lebanon. They often live in Beirut’s southern suburbs which have come under the heaviest bombing.

Lebanese citizens are the priority in the shelters set up in the schools. The migrant workers and refugees lack the resources to find shelter elsewhere.

They are often paid on a day-to-day basis and if their employers have left, they have no income. Caritas has opened up a shelter for migrants and is in the process of setting up larger premises to meet the growing needs.

To date, the Caritas Migrant Centre has provided more than 4,000 migrants and refugees with shelters, basic needs such as food, blankets and cooking utensils, hygienic supplies, psychological and medical assistance and other relevant needs.

The Lebanese government also requested the centre to help take care of foreign and migrant prisoners. Some 600 prisoners thus far have been released from different prisons in targeted areas and sent to Caritas shelters.

CAFOD has also pledged £50,000 to the Association Najdeh who works with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

What is CAFOD doing in Gaza?

CAFOD has pledged £75,000 to its partner, Caritas Jerusalem, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Caritas Jerusalem will support the poorest to cover basic needs for life, including food, clothing, related household expenses, school fees, assistance for urgent medical treatment and job creation projects.

Our partner, Caritas Jerusalem, is also distributing first aid kits to qualified doctors, it has been undertaking a food coupon distribution plan for 750 very poor families, and has been supporting the heads of churches in Jerusalem to bring 3,000 food parcels by a convoy of religious leaders to Gaza.

The Caritas Jerusalem Gaza Medical Center team, in coordination with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, has been treating the injured and sick in 23 different areas, including the Al Maghazi Refugee Camp, providing medical care and follow-up and distributing much-needed medicines and vitamins.

How can CAFOD get aid supplies to the people who need them most when roads have been bombed?

Caritas Lebanon has mobilised a fleet of mobile health clinics around the country, which are visiting schools and other shelters bringing aid to the most vulnerable: children, the elderly and the sick.

They are also educating people about how to look after their health during this period of crisis.

In Beirut and its various field offices through Lebanon, Caritas Lebanon, are providing emergency food and supplies such as soap, medicine, milk and baby products.

A major concern is that prices are increasing and such supplies could soon become unavailable on the market.

With trucks supplied by the Lebanese Army, Caritas Lebanon is funneling aid to particularly hard-hit areas such as Tyre and Marjeyoun.

Is there a solution to the conflict?

CAFOD is calling for the start of negotiations. CAFOD believes that a just peace is possible in the Middle East, and urges the international community and political leaders to uphold international law and help the people of Israel, of Palestine and of Lebanon to step back from the brink of full-scale war and work together to achieve that just peace.

How much money has CAFOD's Middle East Emergency Appeal raised?

CAFOD launched an appeal to its supporters in England and Wales in July. As of August 14, CAFOD has received £200,000.

CAFOD supporters can donate through their local parish, by clicking on the donate button at the top right of this page, or by calling 0500 858 885