There is growing fear that “no one is safe” in Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut, according to the executive director of a humanitarian non-governmental organization working to support families displaced by the bombing.
Humanitarian workers were “shocked” by the strike in Beirut’s Kora district, Jihan Kaisi, executive director of the Union of Relief and Development Associations (URDA), told NBC News.
“This area of Kola is crowded with families and displaced families who came here thinking they were safe,” she said. “It’s a very crowded area,” she said, adding that the attack, which targeted an area just a few miles from downtown Beirut and the city’s Zaytunay Bay, showed that “there is no guarantee of safe space in Lebanon.” said.
He added that Sunday’s deadly attack in the Sidon or Saida region of southern Lebanon also heightened fear in that part of the country.
Thousands of families have fled believing densely populated areas are safe and now don’t know where else to go, she said.
Some families were forced to sleep on the streets, in playgrounds or in parking lots because temporary shelters set up inside schools became so crowded.
“The nights are getting colder,” she said. “Imagine kids without blankets at night. Imagine what’s going on…imagine what they’re going through.”
She said many people have expressed concern that Lebanon could soon become like Gaza. “There is talk that Lebanon may face the same situation,” she says. “So, yes, they are talking about it. The family is scared.”
