Lebanon needs your support now
Lebanon is facing one of its most severe humanitarian crises in years, as a sudden surge in violence and mass evacuation orders force families to flee with nothing. Communities are already pushed to the brink by years of economic collapse, poverty and failing essential services.
Your support can help provide emergency support to vulnerable communities.
Caritas Lebanon waving a flag photo credit Caritas Lebanon
URGENT UPDATE: Public schools and university campuses repurposed as shelters, interrupting education nationwide. Donate now
Donate nowWhat is the latest news in Lebanon?
The Caritas Network is on the ground responding to emergency needs in Beirut. Photo: Caritas Lebanon
Your latest update: Healthcare services are collapsing.
Five hospitals and 48 health centres have shut down, and 30 health workers have lost their lives. Communities are increasingly unable to access even the most basic medical care.
Caritas unpacking aid in Lebanon to distribute to vulnerable communities during emergency in the Middle East photo credit Caritas Lebanon
Your latest update: 831,002 people displaced
As the number of people forced to flee their homes continues to surge, available resources are being pushed far beyond their limits. Shelters are overflowing, leaving many with no choice but to sleep in parks or on the streets as a last resort.
Your latest update: Airstrikes are taking human life
In the last 14 days, airstrikes have escalated in Central and Western Beirut, killing 850 people, including 107 children.
Voices from the ground in Beirut
This video brings you into the heart of Beirut, Lebanon, where Mazen Moussawer, Communications Manager at Caritas Lebanon, shares a powerful glimpse of what families are facing right now.
Thousands of mothers, fathers and children are being forced to leave their homes, some with only the clothes on their backs. Amid this fear and uncertainty, our partners at Caritas Lebanon are working around the clock to expand humanitarian efforts.
Together, we can remind vulnerable families that they are not forgotten.
Caritas Australia is a founding member of the Emergency Action Alliance (EAA). The EAA is a collective of 15 Australian based aid organisations that uses its reach and resources to save lives around the world. Together, we raise more money, for greater impact.
What are 5 major issues people are facing in Lebanon?
Preparation of food for people in need. Photo: Caritas Lebanon
1. Extreme safety risks
Ongoing hostilities have resulted in rising casualties, devastating injuries and widespread evacuations. The rapidly worsening humanitarian conditions are leaving families with limited time to flee with few belongings, and evacuation centres are overflowing.
Caritas unpacking aid in Lebanon to distribute to vulnerable communities during emergency in the Middle East photo credit Caritas Lebanon
2. Displacement
Lebanon has faced repeated waves of displacement for a long period of time, with more than 1 million people uprooted during earlier hostilities. Today, the situation has sharply accelerated, 667,000 people newly displaced people registered in just 24 hours as families escape multiple regions in search of safety.
Marketplace at Caritas Ashrafieh Centre. Photo: Caritas Australia
3. Cost of living
Inflation has caused the cost of living to skyrocket, with food prices increasing by 628 per cent and petrol prices increasing by around 1000 per cent over the last two years, severely limiting families’ ability to meet basic needs.
Caritas emergency relief in Beirut, Caritas Lebanon.
4. Poverty
The poverty rate has nearly doubled as households struggle under soaring prices and contracting incomes. The World Food Programme has reported a 628 per cent rise in food prices in the past two years, placing immense pressure on families already struggling to afford essential goods.
5. Collapsed essential services
Hospitals are rationing electricity and relying on patients to bring their own medicines due to critical shortages of supplies, equipment and clean water, with health facilities overwhelmed by rising casualty numbers and increased needs among displaced populations.
Volunteers distribute aid in Beirut. Photo Caritas Lebanon
Critical needs: what people in Lebanon need most right now
Ongoing displacement, economic struggles and damage from conflict have created an urgent need for:
✔️ Safe shelter
✔️ Emergency food and clean water
✔️ Assistance with basic essentials
✔️ Health and psychosocial support
What is the scale of the suffering in Lebanon?
831,002 people displaced
with shelters overflowing, leaving many with no choice but to sleep in parks or on the streets.
119,700 people are sheltering
across 567 collective centres nationwide.
850 people have lost their lives
including 107 children.
1,313 people have been injured
among them 254 children and 274 women.
How is Caritas Australia is responding to the crisis?
Caritas is there before, during and after an emergency
Our strong humanitarian network enables a rapid, locally-led response.
Longstanding partners in Lebanon
Our partners have been on the ground for many years, with the infrastructure, expertise and local networks needed to deliver aid quickly and safely.
Instant action in an emergency
Amid an unpredictable and rapidly shifting environment, Caritas Lebanon has remained agile and deeply responsive to the escalating needs on the ground. During the recent surge in displacement, the Emergency Response Unit was activated immediately, deploying teams across 7 governorates and 19 districts as conditions changed hour by hour.
What urgent humanitarian aid are our partners providing?
With support from people like you, Caritas Lebanon are urgently working to provide the following key areas of emergency aid.
37 centres providing rent and cash assistance for bills and school fees reporting up to 5,000 new people seeking assistance each week.
10 primary healthcare centres and 8 mobile clinics providing diagnosis services, treatment, mental health services and distributing medications.
Secondary healthcare support across over 80 hospitals covering part or all of hospital fees for vulnerable people.
Shelters for women seeking protection and escaping gender-based violence, providing shelter, food, medical, legal and psychosocial support as well as life skills and livelihood training.
Mobile clinics focussed on supporting people living with a disability and the elderly.
Emergency shelter for vulnerable communities displaced by the conflict.
Access to food and essential items for displaced families. Overall, Caritas as served over 2 million hot meals in Lebanon.
Access to health and psychosocial support for those affected by conflict.
How your donation helps
Photo Credit: Caritas Lebanon
Can provide a year’s education for a child living in a Caritas shelter for survivors of trauma
Stand with Lebanon — donate today
Your donation can help Lebanon's most vulnerable with emergency shelter, support for basic essentials, access to food and water, and health and psychosocial support.
Donate now to help families in Lebanon.
Donate to provide vulnerable communities with:
Emergency Shelter
Emergency cash provisions
Food and other essentials
Health and Psychosocial Support
Timeline of events in Lebanon
Lebanon is experiencing a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis. Rising insecurity, mass displacement and the long‑running economic collapse continue to place immense strain on communities across the country. The timeline below summarises the key developments shaping the crisis.
18 March
1,220,000 people are displaced, including 300,000 children. As the number of people forced to flee their homes continues to surge, available resources are being pushed far beyond their limits. Shelters are overflowing, leaving many with no choice but to sleep in parks or on the streets as a last resort.
17 March
Five hospitals and 48 health centres have shut down, and 30 health workers have lost their lives. Communities are increasingly unable to access even the most basic medical care.
16 March
Airstrikes have escalated into Central and Western Beirut, killing 850 people, including 107 children.
15 March
A major shipping route in the Middle East has been closed, disrupting fuel supplies. As a result, fuel prices in affected countries have jumped to $25 for 20 litres, and weekly economic losses are estimated at $1.5 billion. Deliveries are being rationed, and the cost of a basic emergency food basket has increased by 5%, making it even harder for families to afford essential goods.
15 March
Evacuation orders have affected over 100 towns and villages, forcing hundreds of thousands to urgently flee their homes. Schools, churches, community halls and even sports stadiums have become makeshift shelters as communities struggle to provide protection and basic support.
Within only one day, Caritas Lebanon registered 667,831 newly displaced people seeking safety.
7 March 2026
Hundreds of people have been confirmed dead, with airstrikes intensifying across several regions. A single strike in Baalbek killed 41 people.
4 March 2026
Families in southern Lebanon were fleeing their homes amid fears of further bombardment, as the United Nations warned of increasing displacement risks due to the widening regional conflict.
3 March 2026
The crisis in Gaza triggered wider instability across the region. Armed confrontation along Lebanon’s southern border intensified, deepening the humanitarian situation for communities already facing heightened insecurity.
2 March 2026
At least 31 people were killed in air strikes, with civilian casualties continuing to rise across multiple areas of the country.
Ongoing since 2024
Hospitals continued to ration electricity and relied on patients to bring their own medicines due to severe shortages of supplies, equipment and clean water.
Ongoing since 2024: Poverty and food insecurity
Poverty levels nearly doubled, while the World Food Programme reported that food prices increased by 628 per cent over two years, placing extreme pressure on households struggling to afford basic essentials.
Ongoing since 2024: Economic deterioration
Runaway inflation caused sharp increases in the cost of living. Food prices rose by 628 per cent, while fuel costs continued to surge, making everyday necessities unaffordable for many families.
Ongoing since 2024: Displacement crisis
More than 1 million people were displaced during the conflict. Many returned home to find their houses damaged or destroyed, leaving countless families dependent on humanitarian assistance to survive.
Ongoing since 2024
Extensive infrastructure damage and limited state capacity continued to hinder recovery and reconstruction efforts, slowing progress towards long‑term stability.
2024 to 2025
Temporary reductions in hostilities allowed some families to return home, but many found their livelihoods devastated and essential services deteriorated beyond repair.
Social justice for Lebanon
Our work is shaped by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching
The Dignity of the Human Person
The Common Good
Subsidiarity and Participation
Solidarity
Preferential Option for the Poor
Economic Justice
Care for our Common Home
Promotion of Peace
The Caritas Lebanon team gathered together. Photo: Caritas Lebanon
Where does my donation go?
The funds you donate to this appeal go to Caritas Australia’s Emergency Response Fund and will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by this crisis. Should circumstances prevent us from delivering aid to this emergency, or if excess funds remain after the crisis, donations will be directed to other emergencies where Caritas has humanitarian operations.
