The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that Israeli displacement orders followed by airstrikes continue to drive panic among civilians in Lebanon, particularly in the suburbs of the capital Beirut. According to Lebanese officials, more than 3,300 people, including more than 200 children, have been killed and more than 14,000 injured by Israeli airstrikes since October 2023, most of them within the past six weeks.
In the last week alone, at least 241 people have been killed and 642 injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Media reports indicate that Israel's indiscriminate attacks on targets in Lebanon continue, particularly in the capital.
While indiscriminate attacks are per se a war crime, the deliberate targeting of the civilian population or individual civilians not directly participating in hostilities is also a war crime, as is the attacking or bombing of undefended houses or buildings that are not military targets.
According to the 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 that approximately 880,000 Lebanese and Syrians are internally displaced in Lebanon.
More than 528,000 people are estimated to have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the escalation of hostilities, of whom approximately 62 percent are Syrian and 38 percent Lebanese nationals.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the most urgent needs of the displaced are access to safe shelter, essential relief items, health care, food, cash assistance and protection services. Residential buildings where displaced families seek shelter have been repeatedly attacked in recent weeks.
Israel's ongoing bombardment of Lebanon has left the elderly particularly vulnerable and without essential medicines, food and heating fuel as winter approaches, the humanitarian organization Islamic Relief has reported.
In a statement on Wednesday, Islamic Relief warned that older people are particularly at risk from Israel's so-called "evacuation orders," which are in fact forced displacement orders demanding that civilians abandon their homes.
OCHA reiterated on Wednesday that warnings and displacement orders must be clear and allow sufficient time for civilians to leave safely.
Under international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects. Civilians, including children, must be protected at all times and in all places, whether they leave or remain.
Meanwhile, the conflict is also taking a heavy toll on children, with more than 200 children killed since October 2023.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warns that almost every child in Lebanon has been affected. Many have experienced bombings, lost loved ones and homes, and face disrupted access to education. The UN agency also reports that 300,000 people in the country are in urgent need of nutritional assistance.
The ongoing Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, including in the south, Saida, Nabatieh, Bekaa and Mount Lebanon, are killing, injuring and displacing civilians and deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis. The conflict is having a devastating impact on civilians on both sides of the Blue Line, a demarcation line and temporary border between Israel and Lebanon.
Health officials warn that continued attacks on health facilities and personnel are severely compromising services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 142 health workers have been killed in the line of duty since October 2023.
Due to insecurity, eight hospitals are completely closed and seven 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.
Despite these challenges, the UN and health partners continue to support the response and have linked some 960 collective shelters to primary health care centers to ensure that displaced people continue to receive essential health services.
In spite of the volatile situation, UN agencies and other humanitarian agencies continue to scale up relief efforts. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered at least 3 million cooked meals since September 23, reaching more than 440,000 people across the country.
UNHCR says it has distributed relief items, including blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and solar lamps, to more than 150,000 displaced people across the country since September 2024.
UNICEF has distributed some 20 million liters of trucked water for domestic use to some 54,000 people in collective shelters. The UN agency has also supported the removal of about 1 million liters of waste from shelters and provided essential hygiene items to more than 60,000 people.
With winter approaching, the UN Population Fund warned this week that pregnant women and new mothers in shelters are facing increasing anxiety due to lack of hot water, winter clothing and basic items for newborns, while protection concerns for women and girls in overcrowded shelters are growing.
On October 1, the United Nations launched a Flash Appeal to enable aid agencies to rapidly deliver humanitarian assistance. The appeal seeks US$425.7 million to support 1 million people affected by the crisis over the next three months. As of today, the Flash Appeal is only 39 percent funded.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement condemning several incidents in the past weeks that have affected the positions of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and injured UNIFIL peacekeepers.
Against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, the members of the Security Council urged all parties to the conflict to take all measures to respect the security of UNIFIL personnel and facilities, and recalled that peacekeepers can never be the target of an attack.
In recent weeks, the Israeli military has continued its attacks on the UN peacekeeping mission, damaging UN facilities, premises and vehicles, and disrupting critical UNIFIL movements. Deliberately directing attacks against personnel, facilities, material, units or vehicles involved in a peacekeeping operation is a war crime.
The members of the Security Council also expressed their deep concern about the civilian casualties and suffering, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the damage to cultural heritage sites in Lebanon and the endangerment of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Baalbek and Tyre, as well as the increasing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
While calling on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law, they urged the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).
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 provisions, the resolution called on both Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent cease-fire and a comprehensive solution to the crisis.
Since September 23, 2024, Israel has intensified and expanded its indiscriminate and large-scale aerial bombardment of Lebanon, a country already experiencing a protracted humanitarian crisis. Over the past seven weeks, Israeli forces have carried out relentless airstrikes throughout the country, including Beirut. On October 1, Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon.
Since late 2019, Lebanon has been in the midst of a complex crisis due to several major socio-economic shocks, ongoing political instability, and a sharp economic deterioration. Since October 2023, Lebanon has been confronted with a worsening humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by the escalation of military hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, particularly affecting southern Lebanon, Beirut and its suburbs.
The latest intensification of violence follows an uptick 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 areas and increasingly targeted the densely populated capital of Beirut