Thousands of people fled the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, on Monday after Israel announced it would carry out new attacks on Hezbollah militants sheltered there.
“Families leave by car, motorcycle and on foot, carrying essentials,” the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, tweeted. Many others are returning to shelters and “fear and uncertainty are increasing.”
The UN reiterated that civilians and civilian infrastructure should not be attacked.
“We urge all actors to respect the cessation of hostilities and avoid further escalation. We condemn all loss of civilian life,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
He stressed the need for a diplomatic solution to end the cycle of violence.
High stakes, high cost
The development unfolded as the UN Security Council in New York prepared to hold an emergency session on Monday afternoon to discuss the escalating conflict.
Aid workers reported that many fled Beirut and the southern cities of Tire and Saida following the threat of strikes and new displacement orders.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert, continues her commitment to reduce tensions, reinforce the commitments agreed under the ceasefire and promote confidence-building measures.
In a tweet, he noted that southern Lebanon was “on fire” while the roads of Beirut were “choked by people fleeing their homes.”
The senior official said that the suffering was worsening “as both sides fight for victory.”
However, he added that “escalation has its own logic” and “trying to contain or manage it is a high-risk bet, with Costs borne by people who have already lost too much..”
Thousands of dead and injured
The crisis in Lebanon is part of unrest across the region. It exploded on March 2, just days after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to fire on Israel.
Since then, 3,412 people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Monday, citing Lebanese health authorities. At least 88 people were reported to have died over the past weekend.
Healthcare has also been affected by the attacks. The World Health Organization (WHO) said five attacks were recorded in the last three days, resulting in one health worker dead and 19 others injured.
A US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on April 17, but was not fully respected by either side. It was nominally extended twice, most recently on May 16 for a period of 45 days.
There are UN agencies on the ground, such as UNHCR, which has been supporting the government-led emergency response. Together with its partners, it has reached hundreds of thousands of people with protective services, emergency cash assistance, shelter support, and other assistance.
‘Deepening humanitarian emergency’
However, “almost three months after the start of the conflict, Lebanon faces a deepening humanitarian emergency with a critical combination of displacement and increased food insecurity“, warned the UN World Food Program (WFP) on Monday.
More than a million civilians have been uprooted, and food security experts report that 1.24 million people across the country – nearly a quarter of the population – are not getting enough to eat.
WFP highlighted the critical need for sustained humanitarian access, stable supply flows and predictable financing.
“The ongoing conflict, characterized by daily shelling and displacement orders, is challenging humanitarian access and causing continued displacement,” the agency said, noting that “these conditions are hampering the delivery of critical assistance, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.”
Rising food costs
While food remains available in many areas of Lebanon, costs have risen along with the escalation of fighting. For example, Vegetable prices are now 20 percent higher, while bread costs about 15 percent more..
Furthermore, while markets in Beirut and other areas “remain operational but under increasing pressure,” the majority of markets in southern Lebanon and Nabatieh (more than 80 percent) are no longer functional.
Recently, a shipment of 250 metric tons of wheat flour entered Lebanon through Jordan, now supporting approximately 10,000 vulnerable households.
Hot meals, food parcels and emergency cash.
WFP has stepped up its response efforts, Reaching over 700,000 people to date with hot meals, ready-to-eat rations and food packages. for families taking refuge in displacement sites.
Teams have distributed nearly five million hot meals, in addition to supporting more than 215,000 displaced people in more than 500 shelters across the country, along with approximately 85,500 people in host communities and hard-to-reach areas.
The UN agency has also provided emergency cash support to nearly half a million Lebanese through national systems, and cash support to more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.
Since the conflict began, 24 humanitarian convoys have been deployed in communities in Lebanon They face access restrictions, but more than half of those requested have been delayed or canceled due to movement and access risks.
Humanitarian agencies will launch a new urgent appeal this Friday to increase assistance in Lebanon over the next three months.