According to the latest UN-backed CPI Food Security Phase Classification report, around 874,000 people face crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity between November 2025 and March 2026.
Certain districts and areas have been more severely affected, in particular parts of Baalbek and El Hermel, Akkar, Baabda, Zahle, Saida, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, El Nabatieh, Tire and refugee communities.
This is the first assessment to include people who arrived from Syria after December 2024, recognizing changing displacement patterns and new vulnerabilities.
Assistance is essential
Looking ahead, the situation is expected to worsen rapidly due to a combination of factors, including reduced food assistance, economic pressures and rising costs of living.
Between April and July 2026, food insecurity will increase to 961,000 people, almost 18 percent of the population, according to the CPI report.
“People’s needs remain high and predictable assistance will be essential to help people meet their basic food needs and avoid further deterioration.” said Anne Valand, WFP representative and country director in Lebanon.
Migrants released from abusive detention places in eastern Libya
The United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) has deployed emergency teams to eastern Libya to help hundreds of migrants released from illegal detention sites where they were being held in appalling conditions.
Last week, Libyan authorities closed an illegal detention center in Ajdabiya, leading to the release of 195 migrants and the recovery of 21 bodies from a nearby burial site.
Initial investigations indicate that the victims had been held captive and subjected to torture to extort ransoms from their families.
Buried underground
In a separate operation in Kufra, security forces discovered an underground detention site three meters underground.
A total of 221 immigrants and refugees were released, including women and children, including a one-month-old baby. At least ten people were taken to hospital for urgent treatment after being held for prolonged periods in grossly inhumane conditions.
“These shocking cases highlight the serious risks faced by migrants who are victims of criminal networks operating along migration routes,” said Nicoletta Giordano, IOM Chief of Mission in Libya.
IOM teams are carrying out medical examinations, referring urgent cases to hospitals and distributing warm clothing to survivors.
The agency welcomed the efforts of Libyan authorities to rescue victims and launch investigations, while highlighting the need to strengthen protection systems, dismantle trafficking networks and ensure accountability of perpetrators.
UNHCR responds to growing crises despite funding shortages
Despite serious funding shortfalls, the UN refugee agency UNHCR responded to a wave of complex emergencies and deepening long-running crises last year, according to its newly released report. Impact report 2025: response to new emergencies and protracted crises.
Throughout 2025, agency teams provided protection and assistance in some of the world’s most volatile environments.
They supported people fleeing renewed violence in eastern DRC to Burundi and Uganda, helped those fleeing renewed fighting in South Sudan and beyond, and helped millions of Afghans returning or being forced to return from Iran and Pakistan.
Prolonged crises also got worse. The ongoing conflict in Sudan, intensified attacks on Ukraine, and escalating violence in Colombia led to repeated displacements, further eroding already fragile living conditions.
Positive response
“In 2025, displacement occurred amid protracted conflict, recurring disasters and new outbreaks of violence,” said Ayaki Ito, Director of Emergencies and Program Support at UNHCR.
“In this environment, UNHCR teams continued to respond to the needs of people forced to flee, even as severe resource constraints limited our capacity.”
Emergency support included clean water for half a million people in Sudan, cash assistance for Afghan and Syrian returnees, and more than one million services for displaced people within Ukraine and in neighboring host countries.
UNHCR warned that humanitarian needs will increase further in 2026, as conflicts continue to cause displacement affecting almost 52 million people.
Additional background on UNHCR’s emergency response work can be found here.