Australians financially supporting family in Lebanon say they have no other option

Sue Badreddine sends money to her family in Lebanon while also managing rising costs in Sydney. (Supplied) Link copiedShareShare articleSue Badreddine "can't sleep" worried about her brother and family members trapped by the war in Lebanon. Thirty of the 55-year-old's relatives in Lebanon's south moved into a one-bedroom house after Israeli air strikes destroyed their homes. Their village, Kfar Kila, is one of about a dozen villages along Lebanon's southern border that were levelled by waves of Israeli bombardment over the past two-and-a-half years, according to Reuters. Her family now rely on Ms Badreddine for financial support, and she's spent thousands this year alone to help them survive. "As soon as I get my pay cheque, I say, 'OK, this is for us, and this is for Lebanon'," she said. Sue Badreddine (far right) with her family in Lebanon. (Supplied) The community services officer from Sydney was already financially stretched from rising living expenses over the past few years. But Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which have intensified since February, have added more financial and emotional strains on her life. "When someone passes away [in Lebanon], it's very hard to go to the funeral," she said, adding it's "too risky" to leave during the bombing. Several Australians in the Lebanese diaspora, which makes up nearly 250,000 people, told the ABC they send money to help their families afford everyday essentials, such as food, medicine and baby formula. Like them, Ms Badreddine has struggled to keep afloat while also supporting her loved ones. Sue Badreddine (middle) with her sisters at a beach in Lebanon. (Supplied) She said many of her family members have been unable to work because of the war, and necessities they once could afford were now out of reach. Ms Badreddine helps pay for her brother's medications, the rest of the family's rent, water, gas and electricity costs. She said it was "very hard" to keep up with costs and has relied on donations from friends and family. "The people there just want to have bread to eat and milk for the kids, and medicine for the elders," she said. Inflation in Lebanon had risen to 17.26 per cent in March, the highest it's been since 2024, mainly due to transport prices fuelled by higher fuel costs following the US-Israel war against Iran. The war has also disrupted the supply of goods inside the country, according to the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP). The price of vegetables has soared by more than 20 per cent and bread prices have increased by 17 per cent since March 2, WFP said. Ms Baddreddine said her family had told her that bread can cost up to "five times" what it used to from some retailers in the south. "Babies go without formula because they just can't find any," Ms Badreddine said. Rent has also surged in areas in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, as families flee from the south and the Beqaa Valley for safety, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR spokesperson in Lebanon Dalal Harb told the ABC the country has been facing a deepening humanitarian crisis. "Many simply cannot afford housing anymore, especially those displaced who had already lost their belongings, their savings and many of their livelihoods," Ms Harb said. A homeless man sits on a curb in Beirut. (Reuters: Mohamed Azakir) The conflict and regional instability have driven up prices of essential items like wheat, fuel, and food, making it even harder for households to meet their daily needs, she said. "For a population that was already grappling with one of the worst economic crises in its modern history, this is pushing more people into poverty and vulnerability." During the past two-and-a-half years of war, parts of the Beqaa Valley, south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the country's capital, Beirut, have been hit by Israeli air strikes, decimating family homes and displacing 1.2 million, about 20 per cent of the population, according to UNHCR. A two-month-old displaced baby girl lies in her cradle at a makeshift encampment in Beirut. (Reuters: Marko Djurica) The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that during this war, bombing by Israel has killed 3,526 people and injured 10,733. Tens of thousands of families live in increasingly overcrowded collective shelters, while some are sleeping in schools, mosques, in their cars or even on the streets, according to the UNHCR. Israeli strikes and displacement orders have caused a constant state of fear among those living across the south of Lebanon and Beirut, according to Ms Harb. "Watching their neighbourhoods come under threat, their loved ones killed and injured, and their lives uprooted overnight," she said. Destruction in Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, Tyre district, southern Lebanon. (Reuters: Aziz Taher) Last week, before an interim peace agreement between the US, Israel and Iran, the Israeli military issued a widescale evacuation warning for residents of

Australians financially supporting family in Lebanon say they have no other option

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