UNITED NATIONS — This week’s violence in Lebanon has forced more than 90,000 people from their homes, with 70,000 cramming into 400 schools and other sites, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tallied the number of displacements since Monday with data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which reported it expects the numbers to increase.
OCHA said it is gravely concerned over the safety of civilians on both sides of the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Syria estimated that more than 10,000 people — both Lebanese and Syrians — have crossed from Lebanon into Syria due to the hostilities.
The office said the world body and its partners provide food, water, mattresses and hygiene kits. The recent escalation of violence is also affecting education, health and other vital civilian facilities in Lebanon.
OCHA said Lebanon’s Ministry of Education postponed the start of the school year until Oct. 14, which affects thousands of students nationwide.
The office said Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday damaged four more water stations, bringing the total number of such facilities impacted since October 2023 to 24, affecting access to clean water for more than 250,000 people.
OCHA said the fighting forced 18 primary healthcare centers to close on Thursday.
The UN Population Fund said it provides productive health and dignity kits to displaced women and girls. At the same time, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, delivered essential supplies, including water, blankets, and hygiene kits, to collective shelters.
The World Food Programme reported pre-positioning enough food to support 250,000 people for five days, with the UN relief agency for Palestinians, known as UNRWA, and IOM also providing mattresses, blankets and additional supplies to support displaced people.
OCHA said that the United Nations and its humanitarian partners need additional resources to sustain the response to urgent needs.
On the margins of the annual General Debate in the great General Assembly Hall, a ministerial-level meeting was held on UNRWA, its funding and the situation in Gaza, where the current hostilities began on Oct. 7, 2023, before spilling over into the West Bank and Lebanon.
“We have failed the people of Gaza,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the meeting. “They are in a living hell that somehow gets even worse by the day.”
Yet, he said, if there is any outpost of hope in the hellscape, it is UNRWA.
He defended the agency mandated to support Palestinians whether in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria or the West Bank.
After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, the Israeli government accused staff members of UNRWA of participating in the deadly raid and donor contributions for the agency plummeted.
“In the face of the catastrophic conditions, UNRWA perseveres,” Guterres said, adding that donations are recovering. “This is a tribute to the resilience of the women and men of UNRWA.”
He voiced complete confidence in UNRWA’s continued commitment “to upholding the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and humanity.”
XINHUA
