UN agencies warn of humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon

UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned in a joint statement on Tuesday that the fighting, which has displaced hundreds of thousands in Lebanon, has “triggered a catastrophe”.

“We are preparing for the reality that the needs are increasing. We need additional funding, without conditionalities,” the agencies said.

Lebanese officials have said 1.2 million people have been affected by the conflict, in which Israel has conducted air attacks on Beirut and many other parts of Lebanon, as well as sending ground troops into the south.

“Around 1.2 million people have been affected, with a significant impact on vulnerable communities,” the statement cautioned.

“Nearly 190,000 displaced individuals are currently sheltered in over 1,000 facilities, while hundreds of thousands more are seeking safety among family and friends.”

In addition, hundreds of thousands have crossed into Syria, the statement notes, further complicating the humanitarian response.

The UN agencies added they are working to deliver vital support. WFP is meeting the needs of approximately 200,000 people daily with ready-to-eat food and cash.

There is growing concern regarding the effects of Israeli attacks, which its military insists targets Hezbollah facilities, on civilians.

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon against Lebanon since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,500 people and displacing hundreds of thousands.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed nearly 42,500 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

An official from the UN Refugee Agency said new Israeli evacuation orders to several villages in southern Lebanon meant that more than a quarter of the country was affected.

“People are heeding these calls to evacuate, and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added.

Meanwhile, the fighting shows little sign of abating.

Hezbollah’s acting chief has warned the group plans to fire rockets into more areas of Israel until the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stops its air strikes and ends its ground invasion of Lebanon.

“I am telling the Israeli home front: The solution is a ceasefire,” Naim Qassem said in a speech broadcast live on Tuesday, adding that the group would not be defeated by the ongoing bombardment of its strongholds as well as the killing of its leadership.

He said Hezbollah is focused on “hurting the enemy”, signalling that it would ramp up attacks further south in Israel. He added that a ceasefire in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip is the “solution” to end the escalating conflict.