Lebanon

The first Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team entered Lebanon on July 20, one week after the beginning of the conflict. The team rapidly grew, and a few weeks into the conflict 37 international and 63 national staff were working in Lebanon and Syria in nine areas: Beirut, Saïda (Sidon), Sour (Tyre), Jezzine, Nabatiye, West Bekaa, Aley, Baalbek, and Damascus.

A month after the beginning of the war, a ceasefire returned a measure of calm to Israel and Lebanon. In the preceding days, heavy fighting and bombardments had made it extremely difficult for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to reach people in many areas of Lebanon, especially in the south and in the eastern Bekaa valley.

n the southern towns of Lebanon that have been cut of from the outside world, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is delivering emergency medical supplies to hospitals full of wounded and to tens of thousands of people who are seeking refuge from the war.

Escalating violence is making it extremely difficult for the 35 international and 47 national staff of MSF to reach people in large areas of Lebanon, especially in the south and in the eastern Bekaa valley. Thousands of people are still trapped in villages in the south of the country, while more hospitals are running out of food, fuel, and medical supplies.

Beirut, August 10, 2006 — The escalating violence in Lebanon means that humanitarian assistance is unable to reach people in large areas of the country. Roads have been cut off, basic necessities are running out, and people are terrified of leaving their homes. Despite this, the international humanitarian aid organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will continue to use every possible avenue to provide life-saving medical assistance to those in need.

In southern Lebanon on August 7, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) convoy transporting emergency medical supplies and fuel remained stuck north of the Litani River after an air strike destroyed the last bridge where crossing was possible. "The bombing of the Qasmiyeh crossing is yet another major blow in our endeavor to provide desperately needed supplies to hard-hit populations in southern Lebanon" said Christopher Stokes, MSF coordinator in Lebanon.

In the south of Lebanon, the last bridge over the Litani River, the Qasmiyeh crossing, has been destroyed by an air strike, making it impossible to reach the south by truck. On August 7, a three-truck MSF convoy transporting medical aid and fuel remained stuck on the northern bank and four tons of supplies had to be carried by hand across the river and loaded onto vehicles on the other side.

In the south of Lebanon, MSF teams visited the area close to the Israeli border on July 31st and August 1st. They supplied drugs to medical staff in Bint Jbail and Aaitaroun and provided medical consultations in Tebnine, a transit hub for people fleeing the region. MSF also helped evacuate people who had been trapped in Aaitaroun, a heavily bombed village close to the border.

Greenpeace has offered Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) the use of its Rainbow Warrior ship for transporting much-needed supplies to Lebanon. The vessel was already in the Mediterranean Sea and has now docked in Larnaca, Cyprus for loading medical supplies.

When the MSF mobile medical team set off from Sour (Tyre) in the morning, the plan was to reach Rmaish, a town south of Bint Jbail. This Tuesday meant the last 24 hours of a suspension of air strikes declared on Sunday night.

Contrary to what is suggested by announcements of a humanitarian corridor in Lebanon, aid workers have no real access to the people most in need, and those who want to flee the affected region or seek help have no guarantees that they can do so safely.

Access to the south of Lebanon remains difficult because of shelling and bombardments, which have destroyed roads and buildings. Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) sent three vans carrying drugs from Beirut to Tyre on July 26 and an MSF surgeon and medical team are now working in the town. More medical and surgical equipment is needed, as well as food.

MSF Director of Operations, Christopher Stokes, describes over the phone from Beirut what he has seen traveling to the south of Lebanon and back.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams are on the ground in Lebanon and Syria, both assessing the situation and providing assistance to victims of the conflict. There are reports of hundreds of wounded and, so far, more than 300 people killed. The Lebanese authorities estimate that more than 500,000 people have fled their homes.