While not yet a broader war with Israel, Lebanon's NGOs brace for the worst with little help

As Lebanon looks to head off a major conflict with Israel, its underfunded NGOs are steeling the country for a deadly confrontation in order to cushion the blow, drawing up wartime plans and expanding emergency services that can be rolled out the moment catastrophe strikes, even as budget shortfalls cripple their work, the groups told The New Arab.

Ever since Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, Lebanon's fate has been an open question. Its southern border has simmered with cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, large tracts of land destroyed, and homes levelled.

The destructive but relatively contained conflict appeared to boil over on 30 July, when Israel struck deeper inside Lebanon's territory, hitting a Beirut suburb to assassinate a top Hezbollah commander. Tensions reached even greater heights on 25 August, when Israel and Hezbollah swapped their heaviest exchange of strikes since the two last went to war, in 2006.

The entire country is now bracing for all-out conflict. 

The critical role of Lebanese NGOs 

For Lebanon's expansive network of NGOs, war preparation has been front and centre. In recent months, many have expanded services in the war-rattled south while pleading with donors that vastly more funds are needed as a deadlier conflict with Israel grows imminent.

One such example is the Amel Foundation, which recently established a new centre in the southern coastal city of Sidon, where it provides primary healthcare services to Lebanese affected by the cross-border hostilities. The group has also opened a new health centre in Nabatiyeh, its managers told TNA, expanded an existing one in Tyre, and built up the capacities of eight mobile clinics.

In Lebanon, NGOs play an unusually outsized role. They fill critical gaps in areas like health, education, and social services, which are chronically underfunded by the state. Their humanitarian aid services are a critical backstop during wartimes, channelling international support and emergency relief to the war-battered population when it’s most needed.

Scaling up frontline support has put some of the groups themselves in danger.

In recent months, the Amel Foundation's healthcare centres in the southern towns of Khiyam, Fardis and Arqoub have all been hit by Israeli airstrikes. The centres provide critical medical services to southern Lebanese villagers.

Amel founder Dr Kamel Mohanna said the group would "stand firm" and support the people who are most affected by the conflict. "We will not close our centres in the south. We will not be intimidated by these attacks. Instead, they will strengthen our resolve," said Mohanna.

The state has also been drawing up plans for the worst. To figure out what's needed, Lebanon's Disaster Risk Management Authority has been simulating what the fallout of an Israeli attack would entail, based on what actually took place in 2006. 

The simulation is not for the faint of heart. 

It envisions an Israeli attack centred on the south that would displace one million Lebanese in 45 days and put the country under a debilitating naval and aerial blockade. In a bid to accommodate 20 percent of the displaced, or about 200,000 people, the plan calls for transforming 75 unused schools into shelters. It also calls for 50 hospitals to be equipped to treat 2,000 injured people per day. The plan's cost is $120 million.

Even during peacetime, Lebanon can barely keep the lights on. A years-long economic crisis, mounting debt, and a hard currency crunch means it already faces chronic shortages in critical items like medical supplies. That makes its population highly vulnerable to the fallout of a protracted conflict. 

For such a wartime operation to have legs, its NGOs are critical. 

International donors are looking elsewhere

But funding-wise, Lebanon's aid groups face a big problem: they rely on international donors that have been directing the bulk of their money elsewhere as of late—namely Ukraine and Gaza. The groups told TNA that funders are unwilling to increase support to Lebanon until an actual outbreak of war, making it extremely difficult to scale up protective measures that can save lives in the run-up to conflict.

"Unfortunately, there is still no clarity from donors regarding the possibility of redirecting available resources, which have been severely limited in recent years, or as to how much in new resources will be allocated should war break out. To date, no specific amounts have been allocated," said Ghida Anani, director of ABAAD, an NGO that works with victims of sexual assault.

ABAAD said that since the conflict erupted in October, the number of women requesting its help is up 400 percent. The group is providing psychological support services for people impacted by the war and displacement. They’ve set up special shelters to receive women and children.

Oxfam meanwhile expanded its services to the south for the first time. Since March, it's been servicing displaced Lebanese in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, providing essential aid, food parcels, hygiene kits, and improving water and sanitation services.

Still, aid groups told TNA that the demand for their services already far outstrips supply. Even today, there are shortages of food, shelters, medical supplies, and overall funding.

They worry that, even as they prepare, the sudden outbreak of war will plunge the country deep into crisis unless international donors step up soon with more funding.

"We're worried that the necessary funds are not going to be secured," said Mohanna.

This piece is published in collaboration with Egab.