Lebanon in Crisis

In the past 2 months, the conflict in Lebanon has rapidly intensified, spreading beyond South Lebanon and reaching other parts of the country. Southern cities like Tyre and Sidon have come under heavy attack. Since September 23, over 3,500 people have tragically lost their lives, and more than 14,000 have been injured. 

The violence has now spread to Beirut and the Beqaa region, causing widespread panic and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of families are fleeing from the south and Beqaa, seeking refuge in a few cities in Beirut where airstrikes have not yet reached. Some homes, centers, and schools have opened their doors to them, but the situation is becoming increasingly dire. This has been one of the darkest weeks in Lebanon’s history, and we urgently need your help to respond to this growing crisis. We cannot do this without you.

Amid the escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, an estimated 120,000 people have already been displaced from border areas since October 7, 2023 and are now scattered across Lebanon, many arriving in the capital city of Beirut.

The number continues to rise, with an estimated number of 1.5 million people fleeing their homes.

Horizons, through our Lebanon Crisis Fund, has shifted its focus to provide essential support to these displaced families, offering both practical and spiritual help during this time of deep need. We are committed to being the hands and feet of Jesus in this crisis, but we urgently need your help — we cannot meet these growing needs alone. Our ability to provide emergency aid, shelter, and spiritual care is limited. The demand for mattresses, pillows, blankets, diapers, milk, food, medical supplies, and basic necessities far exceeds our current resources.

Our teams from South Lebanon and Beqaa Valley have managed to relocate to North Lebanon. They are now providing services and ministering to displaced inidivudals in school buildings, which have been repurposed as shelters. In Beirut, our clinic and Kurdish Church facilities are currently sheltering more than 600 people, providing food daily. The need is overwhelming, and shortages of basic necessities are becoming more apparent with each passing day.

However, the harsh reality is that we cannot meet these growing needs alone. Without your support, our ability to provide emergency aid, shelter, mattresses, blankets, pillows as well as spiritual care is limited. The demand for food, medical supplies, and basic necessities far exceeds our current resources.

We are committed to being the hands and feet of Jesus in this crisis, but we urgently need your help. Your support makes it possible for us to respond to this unfolding tragedy. Without it, countless people will go without the help they so desperately need.

Your Support Will Provide:

1. Hygiene kits

   We are currently raising funds to put together hygiene kits and distribute them to people who are still displaced.

Each kit will include essential first-aid and hygiene supplies:

• Panadol tablets and syrup for children

• Antibiotic cream 

• Shampoo 

• Soap

• Toothbrushes 

• Toothpaste 

• Feminine pads

• Deodorant

Project Need: $18,800 to provide 500 First Aid and Hygiene Kits for internally displaced individuals.

2. Food Aid

Currently, we are providing a limited amount of food aid. However, the needs are far greater and we have the logistical capabilities to distribute a much larger amount of food aid. This can be done through our ministry centers and partner churches. There is an urgent need for food portions, as thousands of families are unable to work their normal jobs while displaced.

If the situation worsens due to escalating conflict, a significant number of hot meals will be required for survival. Our Tyre Lebanon ministry team will be ready to prepare them in our commercial kitchen for local distribution.

Project Need: $200,000 to provide 10,000 food portions for needy internally displaced families.

3. Emergency Medical Preparedness Plan (in case of war)

So far, we have provided limited amounts of medicine to those in need based on our current supply. We have a stock of medical supplies and equipment, including gloves, portable patient mattresses/beds, examination tables, wheelchairs, canes, and crutches.

However, with outbreak of war in the rest of the Lebanese areas, we urgently need additional emergency medical supplies. These supplies include gauze, bandages, betadine, splints, antibiotic cream, I/Vs, syringes, and more. Unfortunately, these supplies are scarce in Lebanon, and the country is ill-prepared for a crisis involving military conflict. 

Horizons’ medical ministry staff are reaching out to local physicians and nurses to see if they would be willing to volunteer in the event of further escalation. Resources would be needed to provide transportation aid and food for volunteers.

We are praying that the situation cools down. In the scenario that war is avoided, any funds raised for this initiative will be used for the monthly operations of our two clinics in Beirut and Tyre.

Project Need:

Emergency Medical Clinics in the Event of War: $25,000 per month x 4 months = $100,000

Operation of Medical Clinics (Tyre and Beirut): $6,000/month x 12 months = $72,000 

For real-time updates on what’s happening and the needs on the ground, follow our social media platforms. Your contributions, no matter the size, are critical during these difficult times—together, we can offer hope and relief to the most vulnerable.

Sign up for LCF Updates

The Lebanon Crisis Fund (LCF) is a gospel-centered humanitarian aid and development project that is transforming the spiritual landscape of Lebanon and the Middle East. As Lebanon is currently facing some of the most dire circumstances of any country in the world, the Lebanon Crisis Fund empowers the local evangelical Church to address the practical, emotional, and spiritual needs of refugee and Lebanese families. Today, our partnership network of 130 local churches has been able to minister to in-need families at a scale never before seen in Lebanon—and as a result of our labors together, thousands of refugees and Lebanese citizens have proclaimed faith in Christ and entered into discipleship relationships.

The LCF initially launched as a short-term crisis response, focusing on food distribution, medical aid, church and home renovation. However, over the last 15 months, the vision of the project has grown to encompass long-term sustainable development initiatives that strengthen the Church, such as agricultural development, missional businesses, and internships to train local believers with skills to build up their churches.

Practical and Spiritual impact

The Lebanon Crisis Fund pairs 73 of Horizons’ indigenous staff members with 34 local and international volunteers, who together serve churches and community members. Already, their combined outreach and discipleship efforts have produced a tremendous Kingdom harvest. Below are some of the most compelling results from partner churches and Horizons ministry centers since August 2020: 

• 3,638 proclamations of faith in Jesus

• 2,061 people receiving in-home and group discipleship

• 745,700+ meals distributed

• 7,500+ medicine prescriptions procured for families

• 780+ repairs completed in damaged churches and homes

Additionally, the LCF has enabled Horizons to purchase our first piece of farmland in the Beqaa Valley, to function as the hub for a missional community that provides food to in-need families, employs local believers, and supports the local church. This land represents a physical investment in infrastructure that will spiritually impact its entire region, and we pray for God’s blessing as we build upon and develop it.  

If you would like to know more about how the Lebanon Crisis Fund is impacting churches and individuals in Lebanon and beyond, reach out to us at connect@horizonsinternational.org.

A Kingdom Future For Lebanon

As the Arab League country with the most freedom of religion, Lebanon is a critical gospel access point to the rest of the Middle East. Unity between evangelical churches in Lebanon not only enables them to invest in community recovery and service, but also to gain the vision and capability to send. Through the Lebanon Crisis Fund and the Middle East Center for World Missions, Horizons seeks to support, uplift, and empower the local Church in Lebanon to make Kingdom impact across the entire region.

Today, thousands of churches, ministries, and individuals from across the globe have joined hands with the Church in Lebanon, through financial and material donations, mission trips, and prayer. You too can join in this revival, at a critical moment in Lebanon’s history, to invest in the spiritual future of the entire Middle East and North African region. 

Give a Kingdom gift today!