Agenzia iNfo Salesiana<\/a>, Fr. Simon Zakerian, Superior of the Salesian Province of the Adolescent Jesus of the Middle East (MOR), said, \u201cThe Middle East is facing a new and dramatic emergency.\u201d<\/p>\nFr. Zakerian warned that civilians remain the most vulnerable as tensions escalate. \u201cOnce again, the civilian population of the region\u2019s countries will be the hardest hit, especially the most vulnerable, such as women and children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the attacks, our schools in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon had to close again to ensure the safety of children and young people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
In Lebanon, growing regional tensions linked to the wider conflict involving Iran have intensified an already fragile humanitarian situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thousands of people have reportedly been displaced, while Israeli military incursions have heightened fears of further escalation.<\/p>\n
The south of the country, particularly the Nabatiyyeh region, has endured intense bombing in recent hours, forcing many families to flee their homes overnight in search of safety.<\/p>\n
Salesian communities have responded by opening their facilities to displaced civilians. The \u201cDon Bosco \u2013 El Houssoun\u201d center in Jbeil, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut, is currently hosting around 120 people from roughly 30 families, including about 50 children and 10 elderly people in vulnerable conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are certain that this number will increase in the coming hours and days,\u201d the Salesian community said. \u201cWe must ensure basic conditions for all these people: warm clothing, food, water \u2026 and that\u2019s what we\u2019re focusing on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the displaced families endured long journeys to reach safety. Some traveled for up to 16 hours to cover a distance of just 110 kilometers due to heavy traffic caused by a mass exodus from bombed areas.<\/p>\n
Classrooms at the center have been quickly converted into reception spaces with mattresses, blankets, and humanitarian aid kits, while Salesians, staff, and volunteers organize assistance for the families.<\/p>\n
Fr.\u00a0Zakerian also warned of growing shortages in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also concerned about the lack of fuel in the West Bank, as many families have no way to heat or cook, including our communities, such as that of Cremisan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the worsening situation, Salesian communities said they remain committed to assisting those affected by the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are once again facing a complicated situation, but our entire network, made up of Salesians, staff who work with us, volunteers\u2026 we are ready to help the communities in Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel as quickly as possible,\u201d Zakerian said.<\/p>\n
The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, Spain, known as \u201cMisiones Salesianas,\u201d is coordinating with the Salesian network in the Middle East to mobilize humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about providing a blanket or bread, but about bringing hope to those who are now living in such a difficult situation,\u201d said Fr. Luis Manuel Moral, director of Misiones Salesianas.<\/p>\n
He also echoed the appeal of Pope Leo XIV to pursue peace, calling on parties to seek \u201ca way to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss\u201d and urging them to lay down weapons and pursue dialogue.<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on https:\/\/www.licas.news\/<\/a>. All rights reserved. Unauthorized republication by third parties is not permitted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the war in the Middle East expands, the Salesians of Don Bosco have temporarily turned their closed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[4532,34,37,93,36],"class_list":["post-7358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lebanon","tag-charitable-organizations","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-lebanon","tag-war"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116184597285853952","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}