“Hundreds of vehicles are in a traffic jam at the Syrian border; many people are also arriving on foot, with what they can carry,”UN refugee agency reported. “Large crowds, including women, young children and babies, are lining up after spending the night outside in plummeting temperatures. Some have fresh injuries from the recent bombings.”
UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said the news was “yet another ordeal for families” who had fled Syria’s civil war for years, “only to find themselves bombed in the country where they sought shelter…The Middle East cannot afford another displacement crisis. Let’s not create one by forcing more people to leave their homes..”
Grandi’s call follows heavy Israeli shelling of Lebanon on Monday, which killed at least 558 people, including children and women, and wounded 1,835, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The attacks follow a weekend of rocket attacks on Israeli communities in response to an extraordinary series of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members last week — the latest deadly development in the ongoing war in Gaza.
Depart ‘per minute’
More than 27,000 people have been displaced in the past 48 hours and people are “leaving their homes by the minute,” said the UNHCR.
Latest UN data points to at least 90,530 new displaced people people in Lebanon, in addition to the nearly 112,000 people who have been displaced since October 2023.
Together with partners including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the UN agency is present at the border crossings with Syria and “provides food, water, blankets and mattresses to those who arrive, and accompanies them to support available once they are in Syria”.
Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled their country during the ongoing civil war, which has destroyed key infrastructure and left millions in need of aid.
Mass displacement due to war
In an update on the situation in the Lebanon crisis, the UN Relief and Works Agency, OCHAnoted that more than 110,000 people have been displaced since October last year.
By late Tuesday night, more than 25,000 people had found shelter in 130 new collective shelters, according to government figures cited by OCHA. “The situation is fluid and the UN is working with national authorities and partners to identify and register newly displaced people,” the report said.
Other UN agencies supporting the relief effort include: UNICEFwho has delivered 100 tons of emergency medical supplies to hospitals facing severe shortages “and will send more.”
$170 million needed to maintain support
The UN agency is also preparing to provide food, water and essential items such as mattresses and hygiene kits to displaced families.
The UN World Food Programme (World Food Programme) meanwhile said it was ready to provide hot meals daily to up to 100,000 people in shelters.
According to humanitarian organizations, $170 million is needed to continue these efforts.
© UNHCR/Vadim Makheev
Vehicles carrying families fleeing Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon arrive at the Syrian border on Tuesday.
Outrage over murdered UN staff
In a related development, the UN refugee agency has expressed indignation and deep sadness in the killing of two personnel of the attacks in Lebanon.
The first victim, Dina Darwiche, died along with her youngest son after the building where she lived with her family in eastern Lebanon was hit by an Israeli missile on Monday. Their bodies were recovered on Tuesday, while her husband and one of their children were seriously injured and are being treated in hospital.
Ali Basma, the second victim, worked for the UN agency in the city of Tyre for seven years. His death was confirmed on Monday, UNHCR said, before expressing outrage over the deaths.
“Protection of civilians is a must and we reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for urgent de-escalation“And calls on all parties to protect civilians, including aid workers, in accordance with obligations under international humanitarian law,” the UN agency said.
