27 November 2024 — Juan Gabriel Wells, the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) Country Director in Lebanon, says,
"We welcome yesterday’s announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon and urge its implementation. This much-needed multilateral diplomatic effort provides a critical opportunity to scale up humanitarian assistance, ensuring those affected by the conflict receive the help they desperately need.
"Immediate and flexible emergency funding is urgently needed to enable humanitarians, like the IRC, to respond to the escalating needs on the ground. Even before this crisis, the humanitarian situation in Lebanon had already stretched resources beyond their limits. More than one hundred thousand homes have been either partially or fully destroyed across southern Lebanon, Bekaa and Beirut leaving thousands of families without a safe place to return to. It’s vital that the international community now also invest in Lebanon’s recovery. These efforts are not only about rebuilding infrastructure; they are also critical to restoring dignity and hope to families who have lost everything."
The IRC is responding to the current escalation by delivering urgent assistance, including cash support and core relief items such as mattresses, blankets, pillows, solar lamps and hygiene kits, in addition to protection services for vulnerable individuals. The IRC health team and health partners are providing primary and mental health services through mobile teams at the level of nine collective shelters and five villages as well as static medical teams at the IRC three supported primary healthcare centers.