Let the light of Christmas reach every family and child in Lebanon
After enduring the trauma of conflict and displacement, thousands of families in Lebanon are facing winter without heat, electricity, safe shelter or a place to learn.
You can bring warmth and comfort to a family this Christmas.
A family's Christmas wish is to be safe and warm at home
When more than one million people were forced from their homes by conflict, there was nothing they wanted more than to return home for Christmas. Many have finally returned, but home is no longer safe or warm. Families face damaged houses and unreliable electricity or water just as winter arrives.
As temperatures fall, families already carrying the weight of conflict and displacement face the added challenge of keeping their children warm, fed and safe through the cold winter months.
For kids, the conflict becomes a thief of their childhood, taking away both the safety of their homes and the routine of their classrooms. After months of displacement, the bitter winter cold risks placing yet another barrier in the way of their education.
Caritas teams pack warm blankets for distribution in Lebanon.
When families are suffering, Caritas is there, and you can be there too.
This Christmas, you can stand alongside families in Lebanon. Your gift can help provide education kits, warm clothing, blankets and bedding, food, heating support and other essentials to help families through winter.
Families access support through a Caritas mobile health clinic in Lebanon.
Hundreds of children have been left without a safe place to learn.
Schools across Lebanon have been destroyed or repurposed as collective shelters. Some schools even try to run classes while continuing to accommodate displaced families. For these children, months of interrupted learning followed by the bitter winter cold risks placing yet another barrier in the way of their education.
Caritas Lebanon has a longstanding commitment to education through this crisis. We operate four schools and more than 30 centres across education, healthcare, shelter, and community development.
With the support of people like you, Caritas is working to provide:
1. Learning kits for children who are displaced:
Helping them continue their education, while providing age-appropriate learning, creative, and play materials that support social, emotional, and psychosocial wellbeing during displacement.
2. Holistic support for students:
Supporting children with everything they need to safely attend and participate in school during the winter months, including clothing, food, hygiene packs, healthcare, mental health support, and specialised guidance to prevent students from dropping out.
3. Specialised educational services for children with disabilities:
Delivering 1,800 vital therapy sessions, including speech, psychomotor, and psychotherapy support.
Your donation can help a child continue learning during the cold months this Christmas.
“When I visited South Lebanon recently, I saw first-hand the destruction and the deep impact of conflict on communities. Yet amid these difficulties, I also witnessed the extraordinary resilience of the Lebanese people and the remarkable work being done to stand alongside families and communities.
At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the light of hope in our world. It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, we are called to remain people of faith, hope and love.
This Christmas, I faithfully invite our community to keep the people of Lebanon close in prayer and to stand with them in compassion and practical solidarity. Together, let us bring the light and hope of Christmas to the children, families, homes and classrooms most impacted in Lebanon.”
What families need this winter
As temperatures fall and the Christmas season begins in Lebanon, some of the most urgent needs include:
Warm clothing
Helping children and vulnerable adults stay warm through the colder months.
Blankets and bedding
Helping displaced and returning families prepare for winter.
Heating
Helping families access heating fuel and other essential winter supplies.
Food and essential items
Providing vital assistance as winter places further pressure on household budgets.
Emergency cash assistance
Giving families the ability to purchase
Education kits for children
Providing learning and play materials to support continued education and psychosocial well-being.
Caritas is there
Caritas Lebanon has remained a trusted local partner on the ground throughout the crisis, providing locally led humanitarian assistance across the country.
Since the escalation of the conflict, Caritas Lebanon has deployed teams across seven governorates and 19 districts, providing food, shelter assistance, healthcare, psychosocial support, water and hygiene assistance, protection, and education support.
As winter approaches, Caritas is continuing to support vulnerable families with essential relief, including shelter assistance, warm clothing, blankets and bedding, food, and emergency cash assistance.
What is the latest news in Lebanon?
Pope Leo XIV has kept Lebanon in his prayers
Calling for an end to violence and urging dialogue, Pope Leo XIV has said: 'Ceasefire! Let the paths of dialogue be reopened,' he said. 'Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace that people await.
The Caritas Network is on the ground responding to emergency needs in Beirut. Photo: Caritas Lebanon
Your latest update: Families are returning to damaged homes.
Large-scale returns continue across Lebanon, but many families are returning to damaged homes and communities with limited access to essential services. Food insecurity and economic pressures remain significant concerns.
Caritas unpacking aid in Lebanon to distribute to vulnerable communities during emergency in the Middle East photo credit Caritas Lebanon
Your latest update: 1.2 million people displaced in Lebanon, many of them 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.
Your latest update: Airstrikes are taking human life
In recent weeks, airstrikes have escalated across Beirut and other parts of the country, killing at least 2,100 people and injuring 6,900 people.
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.
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 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?
1.1 million people displaced
with shelters overflowing, leaving many with no choice but to sleep in parks or on the streets.
More than 138,532 people are sheltering
across 669 collective shelters across the country.
Over 4,300 people
have been killed since March 2026.
At least 9,900 people have been injured
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.
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.
October
Large-scale returns continue across Lebanon, but many families are returning to damaged homes and communities with limited access to essential services. Food insecurity and economic pressures remain significant concerns.
10 September
More than 818,000 people have begun returning to their areas of origin following months of conflict and displacement. However, more than 333,000 people remain internally displaced, with damaged homes, limited services and ongoing insecurity making safe and sustainable returns difficult.
20 June
A ceasefire is announced following months of hostilities. While large-scale returns begin, the situation remains fragile, with continuing security incidents, damaged infrastructure and humanitarian needs affecting communities across Lebanon.
18 May
Hostilities intensify despite a ceasefire extension. Since 2 March, 2,988 people have been killed and 9,210 injured, while renewed displacement orders cause further population movements. Attacks affecting healthcare facilities and personnel continue to place essential services under pressure.
15 May
A new 45-day ceasefire extension is announced following diplomatic talks. Despite the announcement, hostilities continue in southern Lebanon, with airstrikes and renewed evacuation and displacement orders continuing to affect communities.
8 April
Breaking news: The ceasefire announced on 8 April does not apply to Lebanon. Fighting and airstrikes are still ongoing at a devastating scale across the country. The situation remains extremely fragile, and civilians urgently need protection.
31 March
The situation has dangerously deteriorated. Israeli ground forces advance up to 11 kilometres north of the Blue Line, alongside an unprecedented level and frequency of airstrikes. Three United Nations peacekeepers are killed over two days, prompting renewed calls to protect civilians and humanitarian workers.
30 March
Civilian casualties continue to rise, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 1,238 people killed since the escalation began, including first responders. Repeated attacks affect health workers, emergency services and civilian infrastructure, deepening fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.
26 March
More than one million people are displaced by the conflict. Over 136,000 people seek shelter in 663 overcrowded collective centres, while many others stay with relatives, in informal shelters or in public spaces. Women and girls face increased protection risks due to repeated displacement and unsafe living conditions.
26 Marc
Lebanon’s health system comes under severe strain. Five hospitals are forced to close, nine are damaged, and more than 50 primary healthcare centres stop operating. These disruptions significantly reduce access to lifesaving medical care, including services for pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses.
25 to 29 March
Cross-border displacement surges as insecurity intensifies. More than 189,000 people cross from Lebanon into Syria, the majority of them Syrians who had previously taken refuge in Lebanon, alongside tens of thousands of Lebanese families fleeing the violence.
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.
