Since the ceasefire took effect in Southern Lebanon, UNICEF has provided an estimated 2 million litres of water to communities, including El Khiam. UNICEF has set up two temporary water tanks in El Khiam. It has also trucked water into the area in bottles labelled with a warning about the dangers of unexploded ordnance and cluster bombs, which pose a grave danger to civilian populations, especially children. El Khiam is a border town that was severely damaged during the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. No building was left untouched. UNICEF has also been distributing two truckloads of hygiene kits. Local volunteers go door-to-door to hand out the kits, which contain basic items such as soap, toothbrushes and towels.

On 28 September 2006 the United Nations declared an end to the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon caused by the Israeli-Hezbollah war and said it planned to shift its resources to rebuilding the war-shattered area. U.N. aid teams will officially pull out of Lebanon on 24 October 2006.

Related news: Lebanon: Amnesty accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, Source Weekly, 19 Sep 2006

Source: UNICEF, 25 Sep. 2006 ; AlertNet, 28 Sep. 2006

Tags: emergencies