Despite a nominal ceasefire that has been extended for another 45 days, escalating Israeli attacks and expanding displacement orders continue to take a heavy toll on the Lebanese people. When the ceasefire was announced in mid-April, it raised hopes of a return to normal life. However, instead of families living in safety, the killing, injuring, and displacement of civilians continues unabated.
Israeli airstrikes in the Nabatiyeh area and the South Lebanon Governorate, including the Tyre district, are ongoing, resulting in widespread casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Since Wednesday, renewed displacement orders by the Israeli Defense Forces have affected at least 40 new localities in southern Lebanon, including hundreds of thousands of people south of the Zahrani River in cities such as Tyre and Nabatieh. Collective shelters in Tyre and Saida in the South Governorate are reportedly full and cannot take in more people.
Humanitarian actors are concerned that families are once again being forced to flee their homes under intolerable conditions.
In a statement on Friday, Imran Riza, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, expressed deep alarm about the intensification of hostilities and the impact of displacement orders on communities across Lebanon, including those in Tyre, Nabatieh, and other locations south of the Zahrani River.
“The vast scale and unclarity of displacement orders are creating disproportionate panic and distress, pushing countless families to make impossible choices in their search for safety,” Riza said.
“There have been shocking reports that airstrikes have harmed civilians as they attempted to leave areas under displacement orders.”
Ongoing hostilities have reportedly hindered first responders' efforts to assist the injured, including those trapped under rubble in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes, according to the Humanitarian Coordinator.
He warned that the "human costs are immense."
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reports that at least 3,355 people have been killed and more than 10,000 wounded by Israeli attacks since they resumed on March 2.
On Tuesday alone, official sources reported that at least 31 people were killed and 40 were injured, including women and children. This includes 14 people reportedly killed in a single airstrike in Borj El Chmali, near the city of Tyre. According to media reports, dozens of others have been killed since Wednesday.
On Friday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that 77 children had reportedly been killed or injured over the past week alone. Of those, 15 were killed and 62 were injured in seven days, primarily due to airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told journalists in Geneva that seven children were killed and 30 were injured on Thursday alone. He added that, since the ceasefire announcement on April 17, 55 children have been killed and 212 have been wounded.
The mounting toll on children comes amid growing concern over the dangers faced by frontline medical personnel and emergency responders.
Riza said that health workers are facing death and injury on a horrific scale. He added that international humanitarian law is clear: "The protection of civilians, including health workers and first responders, must be ensured."
Under international humanitarian law, medical personnel, whether military or civilian, as well as other civilians, including journalists, are protected, as are civilian buildings and objects. Deliberately targeting them amounts to a war crime.
Yet attacks on healthcare workers and facilities have continued, prompting renewed condemnation from international organizations and aid agencies. According to the WHO surveillance system for attacks on health care (SSA), 182 such attacks in Lebanon have resulted in 125 health care personnel being killed and 311 being injured since March 2.
On Thursday, the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called on Israeli authorities to guarantee the protection of civilians, medical personnel, rescue workers, and health facilities.
MSF warned that the security situation in southern Lebanon was rapidly deteriorating amid ongoing Israeli military operations and that this was severely impacting people's access to health care.
“Despite the so-called ceasefire, we are currently witnessing an alarming situation in southern Lebanon. There is ongoing Israeli military escalation expanding northwards, and large-scale forced displacement orders are impacting most of the south of the country,” said Jeremy Ristord, MSF head of mission in Lebanon.
He reported that MSF teams supporting local hospitals in Tyre and Nabatiyeh have received successive waves of casualties amid the rapidly deteriorating security context. Hundreds of strikes have been reported in areas where MSF operates.
“If medical teams, including MSF staff, are forced to suspend activities, communities will be left without lifesaving care at a time when needs are critical,” Ristord said.
"In the hospitals we support, civilians continue to arrive with severe injuries — including skull fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and shrapnel from drone explosions lodged in their lungs and liver."
Amid mounting humanitarian concerns, UN officials have also pointed out that the hostilities threaten Lebanon’s cultural heritage.
On Friday, the Humanitarian Coordinator noted that it was distressing to see “the unique historical heritage of Lebanon, including Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a site inscribed under enhanced protection, being threatened by the hostilities.”
Speaking about a recent visit to the city, he described the human impact of the continuing violence and displacement.
“One week ago, I was in Tyre meeting with displaced people in a collective shelter. Some families told me they had been forced to move five times in the last two years,” he said.
“Their wishes were crystal clear: de-escalation, a true stop to hostilities, the possibility of rebuilding their lives, and hope for the futures of their children.”
These accounts from displaced families reflect the broader humanitarian crisis unfolding in Lebanon.
The country is facing a severe humanitarian emergency following large-scale Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and ground operations that began in early March. This crisis was triggered by a broader regional escalation that began with the U.S.-Israeli launch of a war on Iran, followed by rocket and drone launches by the non-state armed group Hezbollah.
Despite facing logistical and security challenges, aid agencies continue to deliver life-saving support, but funding constraints remain a major challenge to sustaining this assistance. As of today, the 2026 Lebanon Flash Appeal, which requires US$308 million, has only received around $186 million, leaving a significant funding gap.
This significant shortfall in funding limits the ability of humanitarian organizations to maintain essential services and expand their response capacities, especially amid continuous waves of attacks and renewed displacement.