[Today’s Prayer] "Lebanese Refugees Nearing 1 Million"... New School Semester Delayed

As fierce fighting continues between Israel and the pro-Iran armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, the number of refugees in Lebanon is approaching 1 million.

As the conflict between the two sides, which is heading toward an all-out war, shows no signs of ending any time soon, the number of people evacuating to the relatively safe northern Lebanon or abroad is rapidly increasing

According to the New York Times (NYT) and CNN on the 9th (local time), Imran Riza, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, announced at a press conference that day that the number of refugees is estimated to be at least 900,000.

Considering that the entire population of Lebanon is approximately 5.4 million, this means that one in six people have fled.

Riza said, "There are over 600,000 internally displaced people (in Lebanon), and more than half of them are women and girls. At least 350,000 of them are children."

He also reported that the number of refugees who have fled abroad, including to Syria, Iraq, and Turkey, has exceeded 300,000.

The UN said that the 1,000 shelters set up throughout Lebanon have been filled with more than 185,000 refugees, and most of them are over capacity.

With about 75% of public schools being converted to shelters, the start of the new school year, originally scheduled for the 14th, has been pushed back to the 4th of next month.

Duncan Sullivan, an official with the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that some shelters have only one or two toilets per 100 refugees and that there is no electricity or lighting, adding that “the humanitarian impact is extremely serious.”

Source: News

For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. (Psalm 97:9)

God, we pray to You over the sad reality that the war between Israel and Hamas, has escalated and now have spread into a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

You are the one and only living God over all the earth, the world is in turmoil and countless souls in Lebanon are enduring the pain and anxiety of war. Please reveal to them Your livingness and greatness!

The weight of their immediate reality and life is crushing them. May they know at this time that there is no place in the world for them to place their hope, and that You alone are our only hope!

Also, of the 600,000 internally displaced people in Lebanon who are fleeing, more than half are women and girls, at least 350,000 of them children. Lord, please protect the weak and helpless, and help these children, who are the future of Lebanon, to encounter the living God and become the ones who will lead Lebanon to become a nation that saves its people and revives the nations!

We believe that even now, You are doing a new work in the world. May Lebanon, Israel, and even the Islamic extremists turn away from the lies of the world and come to know the name of Jesus Christ, the only one who gives us true love and eternal peace!