Lebanon at real risk of 'humanitarian catastrophe': UN

Nearly a month into the Middle East war, Lebanon is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis that now risks teetering over into a catastrophe, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) warned Friday.

Since March 2, more than a million people — one in five residents — have been forced to flee their homes, said the UNHCR.

With the numbers continuing to rise, “it is really a deepening humanitarian crisis that we here on the ground are seeing in Lebanon,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the agency’s representative in the country.

“The situation remains extremely worrying and the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe… is real,” she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Beirut.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“More than 136,000 displaced people are staying in 660 collective shelters, most of them schools, filled far beyond capacity,” she said, describing limited access to sanitation, while older people were struggling to sleep on classroom floors.

“Even in displacement, people no longer feel safe,” she said.

“Families live in constant fear, and the psychological toll, particularly on children, will last far beyond the current conflict.”

– ‘Multiple crises’ –

In southern Lebanon, Israel’s destruction of key bridges has left more than 150,000 people isolated and severely limited humanitarian access, said Lindholm Billing.

UNHCR is appealing for more than $60 million to scale up its response, and warned that needs were rising faster than resources.

“Lebanon was already facing multiple crises, and this massive displacement is adding immense pressure on families and services,” Lindholm Billing said.

“Again and again, people tell me the same thing: they simply want to go home.”

The World Health Organization has sent a first humanitarian convoy overland to Lebanon, which has now reached Syria.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the Lebanese Red Cross was distributing aid to households, including blankets, mattresses, meals, bread and safe drinking water.

IFRC spokesman Tommaso Della Longa said the LRC was the main ambulance service provider and had now implemented an emergency blood transfusion plan to maintain an uninterrupted blood supply for hospitals.

“Between March 2 and 23, LRC teams conducted 2,754 ambulance missions and 11 urban search and rescue operations,” he said.

Ine LRC volunteer had been killed and several others wounded during ambulance missions, Della Longa added.

“Staff and volunteers are working under extreme pressure while ensuring both their personal safety and the safe evacuation of injured individuals,” he said.