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Caritas Lebanon's overwhelming task of caring for civilians

Vatican City, 20 July 2006 - Caritas Lebanon says it is providing aid and every possible kind of assistance to more than 25,000 people throughout the country, which has been coming under wholesale and indiscriminate attack from Israel, even in remote areas thought of as safe from the military onslaught.
An unknown number of others are being helped by field offices in the south, working in isolation since transport and communications have been almost totally cut off by air attacks and land and sea blockades.

"Practically every one of the Lebanese regions is being bombarded," Caritas said in a press statement. "Even the regions that were considered sheltered from aggression have become targets."

Caritas Lebanon says that the Israeli offensive is weighing heavily on civilian life, as even milk factories come under fire and basic infrastructure is destroyed.

"The Israeli Army is making the situation even worse for Lebanese civilians by targeting warehouses and factories," said Caritas. "In fact, food storage houses in particular have become the target of Israeli reprisals. A big milk factory in the Bekaa region called "Liban Lait" was completely burned and destroyed by direct attacks from the Israeli Air Force. A food storehouse called "TransMed" in Choueifate, in Beirut's southern suburbs, was totally destroyed."

More than 500,000 people have been displaced by Israel's offensive, which began eight days ago. Schools, convents, and public buildings are inundated by people seeking refuge, while many other people are being taken in by friends or family, and even strangers, Caritas said.

Caritas Lebanon has mobilized a fleet of mobile health clinics around the country, which are visiting schools and other shelters, bringing aid to the most vulnerable: children, the old and the sick. They are also educating people about how to look after their health during this period of crisis.

Caritas in Beirut and its various field offices through 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.

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

More than 300 people have been killed since violence erupted last week, only a few dozen of those combatants.

Israel unleashed its attack in retaliation for a military operation carried out by the militia group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others. Hezbollah also launched and continues to carry out rocket attacks on towns in northern Israel.

The Caritas Confederation has called for a ceasefire and urges both sides to take all necessary measures to avoid harming the civilian population caught in the middle of the conflict. Caritas also calls for safe access for humanitarian agencies to carry out their work.

Caritas has opened an appeal for more than $US 1,400,000 to fund its relief effort, as well as an additional $US 175,000 to help the Caritas Migrants Center, which assists the especially vulnerable foreign workers and refugees in the country. In some cases, the Migrants Center is helping with repatriating migrants through Syria, in coordination with Caritas Sri Lanka, for example.

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations present in over 200 countries and territories.

For more information, contact:

Nancy McNally, media officer
Tel: +39 06 69879752
mcnally@caritas.va
www.caritas.org