CAFOD welcomes ceasefire announcement between Hezbollah and Israel

The tragic loss of life in the last week underlines why this news is so important.

Elizabeth Funnell, CAFOD’s country programme representative for the Middle East, said:

“We welcome the ceasefire announcement between Hezbollah and Israel. We pray that it holds. This means that over 1 million people who have been displaced by the conflict can begin to return to their homes in Lebanon and northern Israel and start the long task of rebuilding their lives.

“As Pope Francis has said, “in war, no one wins”. Tragically, over 3,500 have lost their lives in Lebanon and many have had their homes destroyed. Earlier this week two young volunteers in south Lebanon lost family members in airstrikes, while working to support our partners’ emergency response efforts.”

At least 44 Israeli civilians have been killed and 60,000 have been displaced in northern Israel.

Elizabeth Funnell continues:

“It is now imperative that similar diplomatic efforts are put into a ceasefire for Gaza where over 90% of the population are displaced and over 44,000 have been killed – many of them children. A ceasefire is the only way that the killing can end, people can receive the urgent humanitarian assistance they need, and the hostages can be released.”

The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah created a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.

Almost two months after Israeli tanks crossed over its southern border, life for thousands of displaced Lebanese people had reached breaking point. Hostilities began escalating across Lebanon’s southern border a year ago. Then, in late September, the situation deteriorated much more rapidly. Over 3,500 people have lost their lives according to the Lebanese authorities, and 1.2 million people have been displaced - many of them multiple times.

Jinane* (26) says her life in southern Lebanon was “normal, comfortable” before. She and her husband worked hard for six years to build their house, which she says was “beautiful in every way”. An Israeli airstrike in September left their home uninhabitable and traumatised the couple’s two-year-old daughter Amina.

“Whenever she hears a sound, she hides,” says her mother.

Jinane’s eight-year-old brother Zein* joined the family as they fled north to escape the bombardment, seeing devastation along the way. They are now sheltering in a camp for displaced people in north Lebanon, where they are receiving support from CAFOD’s local partner, Association Najdeh.

Jinane continues:

“There are no schools here, so I’m teaching my brother myself [but] he no longer likes studying, constantly saying he doesn’t feel comfortable because of the war and that he doesn’t want to study.

“My husband tries to lift my spirits by taking me out, but when I see people smiling, I wonder why they are happy.

“In the first 10 days of being here, every time I slept, I hoped it was all a dream, but it wasn’t. I’m starting to accept the situation. But when I look at pictures of my house and garden on my phone, my heart aches. We hope peace will prevail worldwide, for the sake of the children and for our own sake. Everyone wishes to live in peace and have a normal life, like any other people in the world.”

Mobile care units run by Caritas, the Catholic aid network, also serve people who have been displaced. Jannette, the head nurse of one of the units, had to flee her own home in the south of Lebanon when an evacuation order was issued.

“When the order came it was as if my life had come to a complete halt,” says Jannette. “I don’t even remember how I packed my things and made it here.” She is now living with her parents in a safer area. “People were in a state of panic,” the nurse recalls. “Along the road, there were no houses around us. Everything was destroyed, from my village to Sidon."

Despite her displacement, she continues her work for Caritas. Hers is one of eight mobile care facilities that visits displaced people in 18 shelters across Lebanon.

“We, like all Caritas branches in Lebanon, are fulfilling our duty by providing healthcare services, free medical consultations, and distributing medication. I pray that God gives us strength to continue standing by our displaced brothers and sisters, despite our own displacement, and to provide healthcare services to the fullest.”

* Names of Jinane and family have been changed

Notes to editors

• Hi-res photos and videos of our work in Lebanon are available on request.

• For media interviews with one of our country experts, or for more information, please contact Rosalind Mayfield (rmayfield@cafod.org.uk, +44 (0)7856 799169) or Lucinda Devine-Kennedy (ldevine@cafod.org.uk, +44 (0)7793 972591) or CAFOD's 24/7 media hotline on +44 (0)7919 301429.

• Next week we hope to be able to also share, via our partners, testimony from former IDF soldiers, lifting the lid on orders they were asked to carry out when dealing with Palestinian civilians.

• CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas International, working with communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America to fight poverty and injustice. The agency works with people in need, regardless of race, gender, religion or nationality.

• Read more about CAFOD’s work in Lebanon

• Read more about CAFOD’s response to the Middle East crisis