Lebanon: food insecurity ‘set to worsen’ amid deadly strikes
Amid intensifying military operations in Lebanon and deadly attacks on civilians, medical personnel and infrastructure, UN humanitarians warned on Monday that food insecurity in the war-wracked country is set to worsen.
The update from UN agencies also reported that Israeli strikes have left more than 3,100 people dead and over 13,800 injured since October last year.
Turning to the hospitals in conflict areas – Tyre and Jbeil Bint, Marjeoun, Baabda, Lebanon Mount and Baalbek – eight are non-functional, nine are semi-functional and six have sustained damage.
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Media reports indicated that dozens of people were killed across Lebanon in strikes on Sunday, including 23 in the village of Almat. The health authorities said that at least seven children were among the dead in the village which is located 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of the capital, Beirut.
Pager escalation
Nearly one in four people in Lebanon have been impacted by the conflict which escalated on 23 September when hundreds of pagers belonging to the Hezbollah armed group exploded, causing death and injury.
Following that widely condemned pager attack for which no-one has claimed responsibility, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) embarked on a wave of deadly airstrikes in retaliation at Hezbollah rocket attacks across the border into Israel, which intensified in support of Hamas following Israel’s October 2023 offensive in Gaza.
Today, 1.4 million people and more than 875,000 people have now been internally displaced across Lebanon. WFP said that 618,000 individuals have received food or cash assistance since January, but needs are outpacing resources, with only six per cent of the $116 million requirement provided so far.
Before violence escalated in October, Lebanon was already suffering from chronic economic problems, linked to COVID-19 and a long-running political crisis. The war has made the situation far worse, with damage estimated at $12 billion across the economy including buildings and infrastructure.
“The conflict also threatens the agricultural sector in the Bekaa and the South, accounting for more than 60 per cent of Lebanon’s agricultural production,” WFP said.
Syria crossing
Latest data from the Syria border indicates that 561,800 people have crossed into Syria since 23 September (66 per cent Syrians and 34 per cent Lebanese).
Recent Israeli strikes near Lebanon’s border with Syria have limited crossing points to just one in northern Lebanon, with water, core relief items and psychological support to people who have fled, “many on foot, to try to find safety”, said the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
According to UNHCR, almost 31,000 people from Lebanon arrived in Iraq between 27 September and 05 November 2024.
Echoing concerns over the deepening humanitarian emergency in Lebanon, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that in a single week, local authorities registered 214 related deaths and 731 injuries.
The southern suburbs of Beirut, Bekaa, South and Balbek “continue to be systematically targeted” by strikes, the UN agency continued, with insecurity and restricted access of health workers and first responders “impacting work on the ground”.
As part of the UN response, more than a dozen trauma kits have been distributed to hospitals in Bekaa governorate and an influenza vaccination campaign has progressed, targeting thousands of high-risk individuals.
Nonetheless, the WHO warned that the violence continues to uproot people into “sub-optimal” shelters, increasing the risk of infectious disease spread.
