Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean firmly condemns and is outraged by the humanitarian disaster that has besieged Lebanon and by the belligerence of the Israeli government which acts in violation of the international humanitarian law. Reports say that hundreds of people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Lebanon, 35% of which were children. According to the United Nations, 500,000 people or 15% of the population of Lebanon, have been displaced, with 150,000 fleeing to Syria. In addition to this, four unarmed United Nations observers were killed in Lebanon by an Israeli plane, on July 25th. The killing of civilians on either side must be halted immediately and a ceasefire must be put in place. Relief efforts must not be impaired and in fact should be stepped up so that medicines and food can get to the victims of this war. Likewise, the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza strip, which began on 28 June, must stop so as to prevent a full-blown and deadly humanitarian and environmental crisis from taking effect. We firmly support peace, the immediate cease of hostilities, the immediate withdrawal from the occupied territories, and the self-determination of the peoples to decide about their own governments and their own solutions to the problems they suffer. We take part in the international solidarity with the displaced, the persecuted people, the civilian populations attacked by invader armies or their own armies. We support the UN immediate intervention as well as medicine and food aid, especially that thousands of refugees and people who are persecuted will return home safely. Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran once said that "no matter how long the storm lasts, the sun will shine again in the clouds". But he also said that "there must be something sacred in salt: it is in our tears and in the sea". And we are filled with sadness to see Lebanese children crying desperately in front of the destruction caused by the bombs, and we are filled with sadness to see Lebanese children writing messages in the end of the missiles that are going to be fired. To whom are those messages addressed? What do they say? Do they say, that they should miss the shot, that they should never be fired, or do they say that they shall kill and destroy as they were meant to? What can come out of this? Victims that will be filled with resentment and the attackers that will be filled with hatred and that tomorrow will exchange roles and one will take the other's place, and that will go on forever. The children who are trained for war, what will they learn but the very essence of war that is violence and destruction? We, who believe that children should be the world's number one priority in order to accomplish any change at peace, refuse to condemn them to be victims of war. In one of his articles written on this issue, Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel quoted Ghandi, saying that if we go on with this policy of "an eye for an eye" we will soon be blind. Let's prevent the world from watching silently the massacre of innocent civilians. Peace will only be possible with justice! ATALC -- Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean http://www.redes.org.uy