UPDATE FROM LEBANON UNDER UNJUSTIFIED ISRAELI WAR RAGE
Friday July 28th, 2006- 17th day of attack
TAKE ACTION: Hold Israel to account for its killing of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure
17th day of attack and the results are….
A report by the Lebanese Higher Relief Council reported that the number of casualties due to Israel’s continuous bombardment has been grossly underestimated. According to paramedics and emergency response crews, the true number of casualties could near 1,000 deaths. “In Tyre alone we had 125 dead and 150 missing or buried under the rubble”, said Sami Yazbek the head of the Red Cross operations.
The Higher Relief Council official reported that a total of 866,780 Lebanese are displaced; 106,780 are sheltered in 652 schools across Lebanon, 550,000 are sheltered with families, friends, churches, mosques, even public parks, and 210,000 have left to neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, and the Gulf area.
Bridges and buildings can be rebuilt, but the damage done to the environment is irreversible!!!
At least 10,000 tons of heavy fuel oil was spilled into the Lebanese sea causing an environmental catastrophe with severe effects on health, biodiversity, and tourism in Lebanon. The oil spill resulted from the Israeli air raid on the Jiyyeh power plant South of Lebanon. A press release by Lebanese environmental NGOs indicated that 100km of the Lebanese coast, from Jiyyeh in the South to Chekka in the North has been hit by this oil spill. They added that this is definitely one of the worst environmental crisis in Lebanese history. The Mediterranean marine environment will suffer tremendously for several years from this spill. It will have severe impact on tourism in the future as well. The Lebanese High Relief Council declared that the oil-spill clean up will cost tens of millions of dollars and will require several years. The Ministry of Environment has organized a team to follow on this issue, and have requested help from the United Nations Environmental Program and the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center for the Mediterranean (REMPEC). The Ministry of Environment in Kuwait has also promised to send equipment and expertise to help in the clean up. Lebanese NGOs stressed that the constant Israeli air raids will make the operation very difficult, and an immediate cease fire is needed if we want to save Lebanon and its environment
The Lebanese environmental organization, Green Line, has initiated an “impacts of war on the environment” project to explore, assess and document the environmental impacts of this war on Lebanon namely through fuel pollution and its impacts of sea water quality and biodiversity, air pollution, impacts of internationally banned weapons on environment and health. If you are interested write back to Green Line or call at 03 674 609 or attend our meeting on Monday July 31st at 6 pm in Green Line offices.
Please read an activist’s reflection on the environmental disaster at:
http://frombeirutwithlove.blogspot.com/
Preliminary estimates of Lebanon’s Economic Losses
The Lebanese Council for Development and Rehabilitation (CDR) issued a report at the beginning of the week in which it estimated Lebanon’s economic losses at 2,070 billion USD. The head of CDR explained that this report is just a preliminary estimate which was allowed by the extent of access and information currently available, and has a 15% margin of error. CDR estimated the losses in infrastructure and electricity and fuel stations at 725 million USD and losses in buildings and institutions at 453 million USD. It is worth noting that in March 2006, during a meeting for Lebanese civil society organizations discussing national development policies, the head of CDR explained that Lebanon was at a post construction stage, in which the building and functioning of institutions have to be addressed and enhanced. In his TV interview tonight, the head of CDR explained that the priority is back to reconstruction and all areas are a priority since everything is impacted due to the Israeli attack on Lebanon. He added that three main factors will impact this period; the technical issues, the availability of funding, and the political decision.
No real humanitarian access in the south
Christopher Stokes, of Doctors without Borders, was quoted in Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper (http://www.dailystar.com.lb) saying: “In effect there is no real humanitarian access in the South; the international community is deluding itself with talk of humanitarian corridors. Talk of humanitarian corridors should not mask the real situation. We have had contacts (with the Israeli army). They have not been very productive, in terms of having contacts for security guarantees and we not been given any encouragement that we would have the guarantees to work in the south”. Stokes had nothing but praise for the Lebanese workers. "Lebanese associations are doing most of the work in the south, without any security guarantees," he said. "I have been in a lot of war zones, I have rarely seen people so committed ... They are the ones doing most of the work, not the international community." He said it was impressive how many Lebanese doctors and surgeons in local hospitals had sent their families to safety but stayed behind to serve their communities.
In their daily update, the Lebanese Higher Relief Council stated that towns and villages along the border with Israel are in disastrous conditions and the residents have been deprived of the most basic living standards. They are lacking basic needs, including safe water, food, and medical supplies. People are drinking from contaminated ponds, used to water crops and which animals drink from. The lack of water and medications to treat people “where some houses contains 50 individuals, have caused scabies which is spreading among the people”, said a local resident who was able to leave the southern village with others under Israeli bombs. The road to Beirut which usually takes two hours took them 8 hours. The Daily Star newspaper indicated that on Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross drove the first aid convoy to the border village of Rmeish in south Lebanon, where about 30,000 refugees have been cut off.
Call and Email Congress, White House, State Department and Media about Escalating Israeli Attacks on Lebanon
Contact Congress, the White House and US State
Department to express your outrage over the escalation of Israeli attacks
against Lebanon.
This full-out military assault on civilians and infrastructure
is another example of Israel’s use of collective punishment in violation of
international law. Many of these Israeli attacks on civilian populations are
with US weapons.
Contact your Members of Congress, President Bush, and Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice:
(888) 355-3588 (toll-free).
Enter your zip code here to determine your representatives in
the House and Senate:
http://capwiz.com/adc/dbq/officials/
United States
Department of State
Call the Public Liaison office at: (202) 647-6575
Use
this link to email Secretary Rice:
http://capwiz.com/adc/issues/alert/?alertid=8906581&type=ML
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