As instability increases across the Middle East, here is a brief update on what is happening in Lebanon and how the Kids Alive International programmes there are being affected.

• The situation is intense, with many explosions close to our Dar el Awlad Centre in Beirut, despite it being in a relatively safe Christian suburb.  
• As in the 2024 war, hundreds of thousands are fleeing the south, including some from our New Horizons project. 
• Some are travelling for 24 hours (as it is virtually impossible to get any petrol/diesel). We heard about one poor young woman having to give birth en route.  
• Thousands have fled the Dahyieh suburb of Beirut, where many Hezbollah members live and where the bombings are especially intense.  
• We’re starting to see them arrive in droves in Beirut, some heading for the public schools, which are closed for classes but remain open for displaced families. Others remain on the streets, while some are crammed into small apartments with relatives.  
• It really is quite chaotic.

“It seems worse than last time. Bombs are falling like crazy, and they are so close.”