Mehanna: We Condemn the Targeting of Health and Emergency Institutions and Call for an Immediate Ceasefire
In cooperation with the Ministries of Health, Social Affairs, and the Disaster Management Committee, Amel stands with our people in their plight.
“Amid the intensifying Israeli aggression and its continued violations of international laws, and in the face of the most significant displacement in Lebanon’s history, the Amel International Association continues to use all available resources to extend its humanitarian response to the maximum number of shelters and regions, through mobile clinics or the Amel’s centers in various areas. From September 23 to October 15, the Amel team, working across displacement shelters and gathering points, provided more than 10,000 varied medical consultations, including children’s vaccinations, distributed 43,060 relief items and organized over 20,000 awareness sessions and first aid psychological support activities for all ages.
Following the extensive damage to several of Amel’s centers due to Israeli attacks, especially in southern Lebanon, the teams from these centers are working in various locations, whether within the same geographic areas or in other regions, to ensure that no one is left without care. The Association has raised the slogan, ‘First to respond to the people, and last to leave the villages and towns,’ in line with its mission, which emerged in response to the Israeli invasion in 1978 and continues to this day. Israel’s assaults on civilians, health, and humanitarian institutions, its violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and its perpetration of massacres remain constants, regardless of changing circumstances. Similarly, Amel’s commitment to upholding human dignity and providing rights remains unchanged.
Currently, the Association supports 170 shelter centers and contributes to supporting other centers as needed. The Association has also activated new mobile clinics to strengthen its response. It works in close coordination with the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, the Disaster Management Committee, municipalities, other associations in the regions, and international organizations to ensure the response is as comprehensive and coordinated as possible for the benefit of the people who have lost everything. Today, they have nothing but solidarity and compassion, which are crucial for healing wounds and rebuilding Lebanon as a state of justice and citizenship.
The response plan launched by the Association in October 2023 and strengthened over the past month is flexible enough to adapt to any developments. Accordingly, the Association adds new elements to the plan weekly as the war escalates and needs to grow. More than 2,300 workers and volunteers from across Lebanon are leading this effort, standing with the people as partners in this ordeal. Many of the Association’s team members are displaced themselves, working during the day to support the people and at night sharing the hardships of displacement and war.
In a recent statement, Dr. Kamel Mehanna, the president of the Association, said: ‘The humanitarian need is greater than our capacity or the capacity of any single institution, but we innovate in our response and find ways to overcome shortages to comfort our displaced people and ensure their rights. We are working with our partners on a global appeal to support Lebanon, which is exhausted by repeated emergencies, and to manage the conflict in the region. Failing to press for an end to the war on Lebanon means the region is heading toward an explosion. The international community must take responsibility and hold Israel accountable under international law and the International Court of Justice to stop its brutal acts against the health and humanitarian sectors. The world cannot be built on injustice—do not destroy the entire world for Israel!’
