Lebanon crisis: more than a million people flee strike amid fears of invasion
Among the victims of the weekend bombing was 6-year-old Selena al Smarah, who died with her parents at home in the southern city of Tire on Saturday. Her younger sister, Celine, 10, survived but was injured in the attack.
The sisters are regulars at an art workshop run by the NGO Tiro Art Association, which has centers in Tire and Tripoli in the north.
In photos shared with UN News, Selena is smiling holding up one of her drawings from the workshop the day before the attack, while in a short video her sister explains how the sessions how it cheered her up and helped her meet friends.
Actor and director Kassem Istanbouli, who heads the volunteer group, said: “We will continue our work for these children and young people in this time of war for as long as necessary ”. Its aim is to promote arts education in marginalized areas across Lebanon and build connections between divided communities.
Last year, Mr. Istanbouli was a co-recipient of the award UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arabic culture. In 2021 UN Secretary General António Guterres acknowledged Mr. Istanbouli’s efforts to engage young people to create positive change and reopen movie theaters that were closed after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Mr. Istanbouli explained that the sisters attended seminars while their parents sold sweet corn and beans at a small stall near the Lebanese National Theater in Tyre. “Every day she and her sister came to the training seminar, and every day she said, ‘Professor Kassem, we have a drawing class today, right?’ And she was happy when I agreed… the world must ensure accountability for this evil crime against Selena.”
The exodus to Syria
Meanwhile, according to the United Nations refugee agency, about 100,000 displaced people have arrived in neighboring Syria. UNHCR.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a tweet, accompanied by an image of hundreds of people crowded together at the Syria-Lebanon border crossing.
Mr. Grandi noted that agency teams were present at four crossings inside Syria to assist new arrivals.
The development follows an escalation in tensions between the Israeli military and the Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, whose longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an attack on Friday.
On Monday, Hamas announced that its leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sherif al-Amin, was killed in an airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp, along with his family.
Humanitarian relief is being provided by the refugee agency, UNHCR and other UN agencies including UNRWAthe United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, opened nine shelters accommodating 3,350 people.
UNRWA Lebanon Spokesperson Fadi El Tayyar said: “UNRWA provides aid to these shelters based on fairness and non-discrimination, hosting Palestinian refugees, Lebanese and Syrian refugees, supporting help all those in need.”
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Aid, OCHAsay 90% of a million people had to leave their homes in the last week alone.
“Displacement has now surpassed that of the 2006 war, caused by intense Israeli attacks and civilian evacuation orders,” OCHA said. tweet.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed 105 people since Sunday across the country.
