\n
<\/p>\n
Thousands of people fled the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, on Monday after Israeli\u00a0announced that it will carry out\u00a0renewed\u00a0strikes targeting Hezbollah militants sheltered there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies are leaving by car, motorcycle, and on foot, carrying essentials,\u201d the UN refugee agency, UNHCR,\u00a0tweeted. Many others\u00a0are\u00a0returning to shelters and \u201cfear and uncertainty are mounting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The UN reiterated that civilians and civilian infrastructures must not be targeted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge all actors to respect the cessation of hostilities and avoid further escalation.\u00a0We condemn all the loss of civilian lives,\u201d UN Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric told journalists in New York.<\/p>\n
He underscored the need for a diplomatic solution to end the cycle of violence.<\/p>\n
The development unfolded as the UN Security Council in New York prepared to hold an emergency session on Monday afternoon to discuss the escalating conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Humanitarians reported that many people escaped from Beirut and the southern cities of Tyre and Saida following the threat of strikes and renewed displacement orders.<\/p>\n
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert\u00a0continues her engagement to de-escalate tensions, reinforce commitments agreed to under the ceasefire, and advance confidence\u2011building measures.<\/p>\n
In a tweet, she noted\u00a0that southern Lebanon was \u201cin flames\u201d while roads in Beirut were \u201cchoked with people fleeing their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The senior official said that\u00a0suffering was compounding\u00a0\u201cas both sides hold out for victory.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She added, however, that \u201cescalation has its own logic\u201d and \u201cattempting to contain or manage it is a high-stakes gamble, with\u00a0costs borne by people who have already lost too much<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0crisis\u00a0in Lebanon\u00a0is part of unrest\u00a0across\u00a0the wider region.\u00a0\u00a0It erupted\u00a0on 2 March, just days\u00a0after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to fire on Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since then, 3,412 people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Monday, citing the Lebanese health authorities. \u00a0At least 88 people reportedly were killed over the past weekend.<\/p>\n Healthcare has also been affected by attacks. The World Health Organization (WHO) said five attacks were recorded in the past three days, resulting in one health worker reportedly killed and 19 others injured.<\/p>\n A US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel took effect on 17 April\u00a0but was never fully\u00a0observed\u00a0by either side. It\u00a0was\u00a0nominally\u00a0extended twice, most recently on 16\u00a0May for a 45-day period.\u00a0<\/p>\n UN agencies are on the ground such as UNHCR, which has been supporting the government-led emergency response.\u00a0 Alongside partners, it has reached hundreds of thousands with protection services, emergency cash\u00a0assistance, shelter support, and other relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n However,\u00a0\u201cnearly three months into the conflict, Lebanon faces a deepening humanitarian emergency with\u00a0a critical combination of displacement and increased food insecurity<\/strong>,\u201d\u00a0the\u00a0UN\u00a0World Food\u00a0Programme\u00a0(WFP)\u00a0warned\u00a0on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than a million civilians have been uprooted,\u00a0and\u00a0food security experts report that\u00a01.24 million people\u00a0nationwide \u2013\u00a0nearly a\u00a0quarter of the population\u00a0\u2013\u00a0are not getting enough to eat.\u00a0<\/p>\n WFP stressed the critical need for sustained humanitarian access, stable supply flows and predictable funding.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ongoing conflict\u00a0characterised\u00a0by daily bombardments and displacement orders is challenging humanitarian access and resulting in continued displacement,\u201d the agency said, noting that \u201cthese conditions are hampering the delivery of critical assistance, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While\u00a0food\u00a0remains\u00a0available in many areas\u00a0in Lebanon, costs have risen\u00a0alongside the\u00a0escalating\u00a0fighting.\u00a0\u00a0For example,\u00a0vegetable prices are now 20 per cent higher,\u00a0while\u00a0bread\u00a0costs\u00a0roughly\u00a015\u00a0per cent\u00a0more<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Furthermore,\u00a0although\u00a0markets in Beirut and other areas \u201cremain operational but under growing strain\u201d,\u00a0most markets in southern Lebanon and\u00a0Nabatieh\u00a0\u2013 more than 80 per cent \u2013 are no longer functioning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recently, a shipment of 250 metric\u00a0tonnes\u00a0of wheat flour entered Lebanon through Jordan, which is now supporting\u00a0roughly 10,000\u00a0vulnerable households.\u00a0<\/p>\n WFP\u00a0has\u00a0ramped\u00a0up\u00a0its\u00a0response efforts,\u00a0reaching\u00a0more than\u00a0700,000 people\u00a0to date with hot meals, ready-to-eat rations, and food parcels<\/strong>\u00a0for families sheltering in displacement sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n Teams have distributed\u00a0nearly\u202ffive\u00a0million hot meals, in addition to supporting more than\u202f215,000 displaced people across over 500 shelters\u202fnationwide, alongside approximately\u00a085,500 people\u00a0in host communities and hard-to-reach areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n The UN agency has also provided emergency cash support for close to half a million\u202fLebanese through national systems, and cash support for more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.\u00a0<\/p>\nThousands killed since March<\/h2>\n
\u2018Deepening humanitarian emergency\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Rising food costs<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Hot meals, food\u00a0parcels\u00a0and emergency cash<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n