LEBANON - July 31 -

Civilians in the south receive emergency aid

Today, more than 1,000 families received emergency aid from the ICRC in eight villages south of Tyre – Hasbaya, Borj el Muluk, Marjayoun and Kleia – and close to the border with Israel, in Kfar Kila, Taybe, Khiam and Addayseh. Each family was given a food parcel that would last them a week, along with a supply of hygiene items.

On 29 July, the ICRC gave one-week food parcels to 170 resident and displaced families sheltering in the schools of Kleia, a village near Marjayoun.

Military operations prevent ICRC convoys from reaching Marwahin and Aitaroun

Earlier this morning, an ICRC convoy left for Aitaroun, a village close to Bent Jbeil and the border with Israel, where it was due to distribute aid and evacuate displaced people stranded in the area. The convoy had to turn back due to fighting ahead. Another ICRC convoy had to turn back on its way to Marwahin, owing to military operations in the area.

Lebanese Red Cross first-aid teams evacuate dead and injured from Qana

Following yesterday’s deadly bombardment of Qana by the Israel Defense Forces, in which a building sheltering civilians suffered a direct hit, the Lebanese Red Cross and the Civil Defence have been working tirelessly to extract both the injured and the dead from the rubble. Lebanese Red Cross first-aiders have evacuated casualties to hospitals in Tyre and removed a number of bodies.

See the ICRC press release issued on 30 July 2006.

First ICRC ship reaches Tyre, while trucks continue to supply the south

The first ICRC-chartered ship reached Tyre on the afternoon of 30 July, carrying emergency supplies such as ready-to-eat meals, hygiene items, cooking utensils, blankets, mattresses and tents. The ICRC will be distributing these items in the coming days. During a first stop in Beirut on 29 July, the ship had already unloaded tens of thousands of ready-to-eat meals and other essential items.

Earlier this morning, two trucks left Beirut for Marjayoun, loaded with over 500 food parcels and 500 sets of hygiene items.

Red Cross / Red Crescent action

An ICRC convoy to Beirut today included two refrigerated trucks of medical supplies donated to the Lebanese Red Cross by the Qatar Red Crescent Society. Yesterday the ICRC convoy included a Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society field hospital, in 19 trucks, which the Saudi Red Crescent will be operating in Beirut.

In both cases, the ICRC convoyed the goods into Lebanon and facilitated the administrative and customs procedures.

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