Oxfam Lebanon boss makes urgent appeal to international community

The 40-year-old was surprised – afterall he was at his mother-in-law’s house a 20 minute drive outside the Lebanese capital. This one was different.

“My ears are programmed to differentiate between three different types of sounds,” he told The National.

One is a sonic boom – where Israeli jets fly at low altitudes, creating a very large noise – a form of psychological warfare. Another is the faint rumble then echo of an explosion far away.

READ MORE: UK increases Lebanon aid support amid concerns over spiralling conflict

“But the one that will get me to jump off my couch is if my feet start moving,” Ayoub added. The walls of the house also started to shake – as his phone pinged with notifications from friends and colleagues.

The strike in question killed at least six people and wounded seven as it hit an apartment building in the residential Bashoura district.

“It was probably 500 metres away from our office,” Ayoub – who is Oxfam’s director in Lebanon – said.

It’s one of many Israeli strikes to have rocked Beirut this week as its war with Hezbollah escalates even further - including a series of massive air strikes in southern suburbs of Beirut and another that cut off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria – displacing over a million people.

Israel has also launched a ground incursion into Lebanon and its forces have been clashing with Hezbollah militants in a narrow strip along the border.

Over 2000 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel declared war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to their October 7 attack.

Most of those have come since September 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. On that day alone, Israeli attacks killed 558 people, including 50 children and 94 women.

Lebanon has been bombarded by Israel in recent weeks

“It was one of the single deadliest days as far as casualty deaths and the injuries in the 21st century,” said Ayoub.

‘[It] caught even the most experienced aid workers and the most seasoned Lebanese people that have lived through various wars, myself included, off guard.

“[But] the discourse at a world leader level is so absent of the human suffering.”

He added: “It sometimes feels like they're playing a game of risk.”

Ayoub said that what has given him some hope is the reaction of large swathes of the world public.

“I've rarely seen a narrative that's as close to balanced, based off of previous experiences and life experiences that I've seen,” he said.

“I think people do recognize that the scale of devastation and the manner in which it has occurred shouldn't be happening, as a global community.”

He added, however, that what is disappointing is the “growing disconnect” between the reaction of people and that of their governments - the UK Government included.

“I actually do follow UK politics pretty closely,” he said.

“There's a certain level of empathy that's missing with the rush to take a stance or take a position to look like you're on the front foot of what's happening and to look like you're being more proactive.”

Meanwhile, Ayoub highlighted the increasingly worsening humanitarian situation.

“It's unbelievably dire and it's evolving so quickly that even our best laid plans could be outdated within two to three hours,” he said.

But he added that perhaps his primary concern with humanitarian needs rising is the “focus and attention being placed by the international community”.

“I'm not talking about politicians but just everyday people,” he said.

“There's so many crises in the world. People are having a difficult time seeing which one is more important.

“I am concerned about what's unfolding on the ground. But I'm more concerned that we won't be able to receive the resources that we need to continue to be able to respond.”