Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon’s economy is suffering another blow as war and displacement deter visitors at the start of the tourism season.
Economy Minister Amer Bisat says Lebanon has lost an estimated $2 billion since the beginning of March, approximately 7 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah renewed strikes on Israel on March 2, effectively ending a 2024 ceasefire.
According to analysts, the latest clashes between Hezbollah and Israel are costing Lebanon’s economy up to $100 million a day.
“In October 2023, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into 14 months of war with Israel,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says.
“You add that war, plus what’s going on right now – we’ve been in almost two and a half years of major destruction of the southern part of Lebanon.”
Economic struggles
The latest economic drain couldn’t come at a worse time.
Following the financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon lost approximately 64 percent of its nominal GDP in one of the world’s most severe economic crises since the 19th century. Then, the Lebanese pound collapsed, losing 98 percent of its value practically overnight.
Unfinished reforms, overlapping crises, and widespread destruction in southern Lebanon make sustained recovery nearly impossible.
“You have anywhere between $20 and $22 billion of destruction; so many villages that have been completely wiped out, completely destroyed,” Melki says.
“Recently, the interior ministry in Lebanon declared that over 42 percent of the Lebanese population is living at the poverty line, or even below that.”
Believers’ response
These monumental challenges create more work for Heart for Lebanon.
May strength, comfort, and restoration reach every family navigating the difficulties of this time.
(Photo, caption courtesy Heart for Lebanon)
“We had to add 2,600 new families to our beneficiary list. This is over and above the 5,200 families that we were helping early in 2026, and this is only a drop in the bucket of the needs around us,” Melki says.
Yet more work means more opportunities to share the Gospel, especially as summer begins. Pray for wisdom for ministry leaders. Support a family in need here.
“We are in serious conversations as a management team about some of our programs, how should we shift some, align others? Maybe even create new programs,” Melki says.
“To be more effective and capable, and to reach new territories in Lebanon where IDPs live, we have forged a partnership with 50 local churches. Through those small local churches, we can provide support and the resources they need to love and care for people in their own circles of influence.”
Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.
