The images coming out of Lebanon are devastating. Families fleeing south Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon with whatever they can carry. Children displaced for the second or third time. Communities that had barely recovered from previous crises now facing a new wave of destruction.

CAFOD has been working in Lebanon for decades, and its local partners — Caritas Lebanon and other faith-based organisations — are already responding. Emergency food, shelter, and medical support are being distributed to families who have nowhere else to turn. The organisation is calling on UK supporters to give to its Middle East Emergency Appeal.

What makes CAFOD's response distinctive is its rootedness. These are not teams parachuting in from outside — they are local people, often themselves affected by the crisis, choosing to serve their neighbours. That kind of presence cannot be replicated by any amount of money alone.

For UK Catholics and Christians watching the news with a sense of helplessness, CAFOD offers a practical way to act. The appeal is live at cafod.org.uk. And the call to pray — for the people of Lebanon, for those doing the work, and for a just and lasting peace — is one that every church in Britain can answer.