Lebanese ramp up efforts to ease humanitarian crisis

Almost three weeks into Israel's devastating strikes on Lebanon, civilians are increasingly taking the organization of humanitarian help into their own hands. 

"I joined a local initiative, and we distribute donations between several shelters and schools," Rayan Chaya told DW in Aley, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of the capital, Beirut.

The 27-year-old mechanical engineer has been setting up databases with places to rent and eat for free. He also organized a wheelchair for a family who had to leave theirs behind when they fled.

"We're in a crisis, and if we don't help each other, who will?" he said. "The government isn't taking any serious action."

Heiko Wimmen, Lebanon project director at the International Crisis Group, a nongovernmental conflict prevention organization, confirmed this view.

"The level of humanitarian support for the population is what you would expect from a country whose political structures do not really function," he said.

Years of political instability, in combination with an ongoing economic crisis, have left Lebanon on the brink of collapse.

The dire situation was further exacerbated in late September when Israel escalated its attacks on Hezbollah, after a year of limited fighting. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the US and Germany, while the EU classifies its armed wing as a terrorist group.

Since then, several Hezbollah leaders have been killed and more than 2,000 civilians have died in the Israeli attacks, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Some 608,000 people are currently internally displaced, according to the latest update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA. Lebanese authorities have said this figure is twice as high.

House squatting on the rise

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government, which is acting in a caretaker capacity, has set up 973 shelters in public institutions across the country. But the available 180,000 places were quickly taken by people desperate for a place to stay. 

"The number of shelters doesn't match the number of needed places and I fear that house squatters will increasingly take over both emptied apartments as well as uninhabited luxury flats," said Wimmen. 

According to a study by the American University of Beirut, around 31% of Beirut's property has been bought for investment purposes.

Meanwhile, Lebanese who are affiliated in one way or the other with Hezbollah's influential political wing are increasingly moving into these apartments.

"Some of the Hezbollah-affiliated parties such as the Amal [Movement] and the Syrian Socialist National Party [in Lebanon], who have been doing the dirty work on behalf of Hezbollah for years, have opened buildings for refugees," said Wimmen.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that a spokesman for the Lebanese police told their reporter that they would empty the buildings only when proper alternatives were found.

Food, clothes and a hug

Mosques, churches, bars and many private citizens are doing their best to help, said Anna Fleischer, director of the Heinrich-Böll Foundation office in Beirut. 

"In my mosque, there is no space to host families but the number of worshippers has increased immensely and we provide food, medical services and relief," Sheikh Mohammed Abu Zaid, imam of the largest mosque in Saida, 45 kilometers south of Beirut, told DW.

Sally Halawi, who owns the thrift shop Circuit in Beirut, has also decided to help refugees.

"I felt I had to do something to help," she said. She donated everything in her shop to people who had left their homesand belongings behind. On Instagram, she called out for more donations.

"Lots of people responded," said Halawi. Every morning, she assembles the donations according to gender and size. Every evening, donations are sent to the school-turned-shelters. 

"So far, we have collected more than 30,000 items," the 35-year-old said, adding that "as draining and hectic as this is, I believe this is the least I can do for my people, and I still feel it's not enough."

EU sets up humanitarian aid bridge

Meanwhile, international humanitarian aid for Lebanon's population is picking up.

On Friday, the first of three EU flights with aid supplies including hygiene items, blankets and emergency shelter kits was set to arrive in Beirut. Member states Belgium, France, Poland, Slovakia and Spain have also sent aid.

Earlier this week, Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad welcomed 40 tons of from the United Arab Emirates.

And yet, observers have stressed that addressing the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is also driven by political interests. 

"Lebanon's ruling elite is now trying to maintain its dominance by courting international donors as well as Western and Gulf Arab sponsors," said Lorenzo Trombetta, a Middle East analyst.

The first to promise humanitarian aid were Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, he added. However, Qatar has been hosting the political Hamas elite for years and is one of the key negotiators for a cease-fire in Gaza.

"And Abu Dhabi supports the alliance with the United States and collaborates with Israel and its armed forces on high-tech technology, as well as continuing to send aid to Beirut," Trombetta explained.

In his view, this is done to "exert greater political influence in Lebanon and strengthen its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean."

He also fears that Lebanon's political elite is about to de-prioritize the needs of the population. "In the near future, the main focus will turn to the management of reconstruction funds," he said.

Trombetta considers it key to link reconstruction aid, as well as the distribution of essential services and welfare, exclusively to Lebanon's civil population.

However, that aid effort appears to be stalling. The UN-led flash appeal for over $426 million (€389 million) for Lebanon's civil society has so far received only $53 million.

Edited by: Rob Mudge