Updated Tuesday 25 July 2006

WFP has begun bringing emergency humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon.

WFP will be feeding over 300,000 people affected by the violence in Lebanon over the next 3 months.

Many people have had to flee their homes and even leave the country since the Israeli army started shelling Lebanon on 12 July. In the rush to find safety, families left with just the clothes they were wearing and with very little food.

WFP’s first shipment to the area was 25 tonnes of high-energy biscuits. These are cookies with extra vitamins and nutrients, to help people stay strong when they can’t cook. The biscuits arrived by ship from Italy on Sunday.

Amer Daoudi is coordinating WFP’s emergency operations in Lebanon. He says it’s important the organisation acts quickly. “We need to reach these people fast. It is bad enough that their lives have been shattered without them having to go hungry as well,” Daoudi said.