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According to the Lebanese authorities, more than 2,700 people have been killed since 2 March amid clashes between Hezbollah fighters based in Lebanon and the Israeli military.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hezbollah \u2013 a totally independent militia \u2013 began firing rockets into northern Israel after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran started on 28 February.<\/p>\n
Women make up 25 of the more than 380 people killed in Lebanon since the 17 April ceasefire came into effect, highlighting the dangers they face, \u201cas they attempt to return to their homes under the perceived safety of the ceasefire,\u201d said UN Women\u2019s Moez Doraid, UN Women Regional Director for Arab States.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinued Israeli airstrikes, evacuation orders, bans to return to certain areas, and movement restrictions mean most people still cannot go back to their homes<\/strong>, with more than an estimated half a million women and girls remaining displaced,\u201d he told journalists.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking from Beirut via video link, Mr. Doraid urged the international community to \u201cstand by these women and girls, men and boys to bring back the hope\u201d.<\/p>\n Unlike past wars and conflicts that the people of Lebanon have endured in past decades, \u201cthis current conflict has eroded hope among many, as homes and lands in southern Lebanon have been destroyed\u201d, the UN official insisted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He described how one woman had been forced \u201cto forage for wild herbs to feed her family\u201d amid deepening food insecurity.\u00a0<\/p>\n This worrying testimony is in line with\u00a0respected food insecurity expert assessments which support estimates that an additional 144,000 women and girls are expected to face crisis-level hunger or worse in the coming months, bringing the total to approximately 639,000.<\/p>\n Today in Lebanon, access to food, water, healthcare, education and basic services has been dangerously disrupted. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced with entire communities uprooted by Israeli evacuation orders covering more of the country than ever before.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the ceasefire in place but no peace established, thousands are returning under challenging conditions, with extensive damage to homes, and the risks of unexploded ordnance.<\/p>\n So far during this conflict, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has negotiated the movement of 19 convoys to south Lebanon with support for 84,500 individuals. \u201cBut they’re a fraction of those that are approved,\u201d said WFP\u2019s Matthew Hollingworth, Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, we’re only talking about less than 50 per cent [of convoy requests to Israel] getting approval<\/strong>. So, we would like to be doing many more such inter-agency, multi-agency and NGO convoys into hard-to-reach areas\u2026We just need to be doing a lot more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since 2 March, UN Women has directly supported more than 15,000 women and girls, with reach extending to more than 70,000 people across their communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\u2018Bring back the hope\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Basic services eroded<\/strong><\/h2>\n