The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that ongoing Israeli airstrikes are deepening the crisis in areas of Lebanon already struggling with displacement, as casualties and the impact of the conflict mount. According to the Lebanese government, more than 2,400 people have been killed and more than 11,000 injured since October 2023, most of them in the past four weeks.
According to OCHA's latest situation report, released on Saturday, Lebanon remains engulfed in a worsening humanitarian crisis as Israeli airstrikes continue to spread across the country, targeting more areas with devastating effects on civilians and key infrastructure essential to everyday life.
Media outlets reported heavy Israeli airstrikes on Saturday and early Sunday targeting the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Fighting also continues to be reported in southern Lebanon, as well as attacks in the Bekaa governorate in the eastern part of the country, which borders Syria.
According to Lebanese authorities, 1.2 million people, including 400,000 children, have been displaced or otherwise directly affected by the crisis. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has confirmed nearly 780,000 displaced people and says that more than 190,000 of them are now staying in over 1,000 shelters, while others are staying with their families or have crossed into Syria.
Since September 23, some 466,000 Syrians and Lebanese have arrived in Syria, according to government figures. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates that about 405,000 people, 70 percent Syrians and 30 percent Lebanese, have crossed into Syria.
OCHA reports that the Bekaa Governorate has been subjected to intense airstrikes over the past week and that this is the first time that Israeli forces have issued evacuation orders, although the region has been hit several times before.
Inside Lebanon, some 193,000 displaced people are staying in more than 1,000 shelters, 900 of which have already reached capacity. According to OCHA, the number of displaced people far exceeds the assistance being provided, and the need for essential relief items in collective shelters is mounting.
There are four times as many displaced people living outside formal shelters, according to Lebanese authorities. Many of them are highly vulnerable. They are at risk of homelessness and precarious housing.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health services have been severely affected by the war, with 45 attacks on health facilities and personnel recorded, resulting in 95 health workers killed and 77 injured.
Due to insecurity, six hospitals are completely shut down and four are partially operational, while nearly half - 100 out of 207 primary health centers and clinics in conflict-affected areas - are closed, further hampering access to critical health services and making it even more difficult for civilians to receive essential health care.
Following a devastating series of air strikes on the city of Nabatieh on Wednesday, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, called for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. The airstrikes on Nabatiyeh killed 16 people, including the mayor and members of the Disaster Risk Reduction Unit, and injured 52, as the municipal office was also hit during an emergency response meeting.
While indiscriminate attacks are per se a war crime, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against individual civilians not directly taking part in hostilities is also a war crime, as is attacking or bombing houses or buildings that are undefended and are not military objectives.
Deliberately directing attacks against personnel, facilities, material, units or vehicles engaged in a humanitarian assistance mission is likewise a war crime.
Riza said health facilities, mosques, historic markets, residential complexes and government buildings have been reduced to rubble, adding that displaced families continue to feel vulnerable even after fleeing to safer areas.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) continues to respond to the urgent needs of people affected by the ongoing conflict. Since September 23, WFP has reached more than 200,000 people with cash or food assistance, including 1.2 million meals. Among them are people seeking refuge in shelters, those who have been displaced to safer areas, and residents who remain in conflict zones.
As the conflict intensifies and humanitarian needs rise, soon to be further exacerbated by the challenges of winter, WFP urgently needs US$116 million by the end of the year to sustain its emergency operations. The UN agency says this funding is critical not only to support displaced people in shelters, but also to scale up assistance to more than 1 million affected people.
Meanwhile, the risk of regional conflict is looming as Israeli strikes last week hit the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The strikes injured at least five peacekeepers, damaged infrastructure, and raised concerns about the safety of peacekeepers and the mission's ability to operate effectively.
A UN official on Friday accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of repeatedly targeting UN peacekeepers along the Blue Line, a demarcation line and temporary border between Israel and Lebanon.
“We have been targeted several times and deliberately attacked once inside the borders in Naqoura, injuring two peacekeepers,” Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for UNIFIL, told journalists in Geneva, speaking from Beirut.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a message to the UNIFIL troops, expressing his admiration of and gratitude for the work they are doing under such challenging circumstances. He said all parties have an obligation to ensure “the safety of our personnel” and that “the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times.”
“Attacks against UN peacekeepers are completely unacceptable. They are in breach of international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime,” he said.
Guterres also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
After weeks of war between Israel and Lebanon in 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1701, which established a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon. Among other things, Resolution 1701 called on both Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent cease-fire and a comprehensive solution to the crisis.
In recent days, the Israeli military has continued its attacks on the UN peacekeeping mission, damaging UN installations, premises and vehicles, and disrupting critical UNIFIL movements. Deliberately directing attacks against personnel, facilities, material, units or vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission is a war crime.
The ongoing war has severely disrupted education in Lebanon, displacing more than 393,000 public and private school students, while 77 percent of public schools are not providing educational services, either because they are being used as shelters or because they are located in directly affected areas.
According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), children are increasingly at risk of health problems as essential services are disrupted by the ongoing bombardment. Waterborne diseases such as diarrhea are being reported, exacerbated by damage to at least 28 water facilities affecting more than 360,000 people.
With 400,000 children displaced, the risk of disease spreading in overcrowded shelters is real, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian assistance as families struggle without adequate shelter and hygiene supplies.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed a case of cholera, highlighting the escalating health risks amid the ongoing conflict. The case was identified in the Akkar governorate in the north of the country, marking the first case since the October 2022-June 2023 outbreak was declared over.
The 2022-2023 outbreak was the first in Lebanon in more than 30 years and was driven by economic decline and inadequate access to clean water and sanitation, resulting in 8,007 suspected cases, 671 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 23 deaths.
“WHO has been sounding the alarm on the risk of emerging infectious diseases like cholera resurfacing in Lebanon as a result of poor water and sanitation conditions and the impact of the current conflict,” said Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO Representative in Lebanon, in a statement Friday.
“Our immediate focus now is to enhance surveillance and water sanitation conditions to interrupt transmission and prevent further spread.”
On October 1, the United Nations launched a Flash Appeal to allow aid agencies to rapidly deliver humanitarian assistance. The appeal seeks US$425.7 million to assist 1 million people affected by the crisis over the next three months.
Just three weeks ago, Israel dramatically intensified its airstrikes on Lebanon, a country already experiencing a protracted humanitarian crisis. Since late 2019, Lebanon has been in the midst of a complex crisis due to several major socioeconomic shocks, ongoing political instability, and a sharp economic deterioration.
Since October 2023, Lebanon had been confronted with a more severe humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by the escalation of military hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, particularly affecting southern Lebanon, Beirut and its suburbs.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified and expanded its indiscriminate and large-scale aerial bombardment of Lebanon. Israeli forces have carried out relentless airstrikes throughout the country, including Beirut. On October 1, Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon.
The latest intensification of violence follows an upsurge in cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along the Blue Line and two days of terrorist attacks in Lebanon in September. Deadly explosions from wireless devices killed at least 37 people and maimed or injured more than 3,400.
Lebanese civilians are bearing the brunt of this latest phase of the conflict. The escalation along the Blue Line is causing widespread destruction of towns and villages in southern Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes have not only intensified, but have expanded into previously unaffected regions and increasingly targeted the densely populated capital Beirut.