With the humanitarian situation in Lebanon worsening by the day, health authorities report that at least 1,116 people have been killed and over 3,000 injured in Israeli attacks since March 2. Meanwhile, displacement continues to surge, with over 1.2 million people in Lebanon – around a fifth of the population – having been forced to flee their homes.
Over 130,000 people, including more than 46,000 children, are currently sheltering in over 600 collective sites nationwide. Tens of thousands of Syrians have reportedly crossed into Syria amid the ongoing violence in an attempt to escape the escalating Israeli military action in Lebanon.
Over three weeks since the US-Israeli war on Iran was initiated, the conflict continues to escalate, disproportionately impacting civilians across the Middle East, with those in Lebanon at the epicenter of the wider conflict.
In a humanitarian situation report released on Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that hostilities are intensifying across multiple areas of Lebanon, further deteriorating the humanitarian situation.
Since the start of the military escalation, it is estimated that displacement orders have covered nearly 1,500 square kilometers – approximately 14 percent of Lebanon’s territory – impacting large areas of southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of the Bekaa Valley.
Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Lebanon, causing relentless civilian deaths and injuries. Airstrikes have caused widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, including homes and essential services. Key facilities have been damaged, disrupting access to healthcare, water, and electricity.
Strikes have been reported across Lebanon, including airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which followed mass displacement orders in multiple neighborhoods. In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces have struck and destroyed several key crossings over the Litani River, restricting people’s movement and hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to those fleeing the violence.
Clashes and military operations are ongoing in Beirut’s southern suburbs, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa region. Incidents involving artillery fire and ground incursions have been recorded along the Blue Line in areas such as Khiam, Naqoura, Taybeh, and Markaba.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 77 attacks on healthcare workers, resulting in 53 deaths and 117 injuries. WHO additionally reports that at least 50 primary healthcare centers and five hospitals have closed due to ongoing conflict, while nine hospitals and four primary healthcare centers have suffered damage.
Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities are putting additional strain on Lebanon’s fragile healthcare system and posing greater risks to medical personnel providing life-saving care. Humanitarian organizations continue to urge all parties to protect civilians, civilian infrastructure, humanitarian personnel, and health workers.
Attacks targeting civilian objects or infrastructure essential to the civilian population constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and are considered war crimes. The law of war is unequivocal: objects that provide services to civilians are not eligible for classification as military objectives.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners continue to scale up emergency assistance in close coordination with national and local authorities. However, damage to key transportation routes severely restricts humanitarian access, impedes the delivery of essential supplies, and limits civilians' ability to move safely.
As of Wednesday, the World Food Programme (WFP) has distributed approximately two million hot and cold meals and 45,000 meal boxes. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has given out more than 115,000 blankets and over 95,000 mattresses.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided tens of thousands of hygiene and menstrual kits, along with over 840,000 liters of bottled drinking water and 14,000 cubic meters of water via truck. Additionally, more than 485,000 liters of fuel have been supplied to sustain water services for over 400,000 people.
The European Commission has coordinated three EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flights to deliver aid supplies, including medical, hygiene, and food items from the European Union's own stocks and several partners, such as UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the German Red Cross, and Médecins Sans Frontières.
“Through our EU Humanitarian Air Bridges, we are stepping up to reach the most vulnerable quickly,” said European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib in a statement on Thursday.
“The EU will continue to deliver life-saving aid, together with our Member States and partners. We stand firmly with the people of Lebanon at this difficult time. This war must end.”
Despite these efforts, the humanitarian response is heavily constrained by limited access to hard-to-reach areas, the closure of critical service facilities, the overburdening of aid agencies' capacities, and funding gaps.
The Flash Appeal for Lebanon, launched on March 13, seeks US$308 million to support up to one million people over the next three months. So far, it has received just under a third of the requested funds, or $91 million.
Aid agencies urgently need additional funds to provide essential relief items, such as food, medicine, and shelter, for the immediate relief effort in Lebanon and to support existing relief services for the affected population. Humanitarian organizations grapple with severe challenges as the country faces widespread destruction and overwhelmed public services.
Since March 2, Lebanon has been facing a rapidly worsening humanitarian emergency following massive Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. These were triggered by a broader regional escalation following the US-Israeli initiation of war against Iran and subsequent rocket and drone fire by the Hezbollah armed group.
Even before the latest escalation, hostilities in Lebanon had already increased significantly between September and November 2024, when thousands of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanese territory caused substantial civilian casualties and mass displacement.