The situation in Lebanon continues to be extremely fragile and volatile, given the insecurity, especially in the southern part of the country, a UN spokesperson said at a daily briefing on Wednesday.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) have jointly warned that the sharp escalation in violence has reversed recent food security gains and pushed the country back into crisis, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for Lebanon, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The latest analysis shows that between April and August this year, an estimated 1.24 million people in Lebanon will face food insecurity levels classified as Crisis or IPC Phase 3 or worse, which means one in four Lebanese will be forced to skip meals or sell some of their possessions in order to buy food, according to Dujarric.
He also highlighted that the humanitarian aid for Lebanon currently faces a massive funding shortfall.
"But despite these growing needs, the humanitarian response remains significantly underfunded. The Lebanon Flash Appeal has received just over 117 million dollars, which is only 38 per cent of the money that we need, which is 308 million dollars," he said.
Dujarric also denounced the killing of three civil defense rescue workers in the southern part of the country when two strikes hit a building in Tyre District. He stressed that strikes on civilians, health workers, and infrastructure constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since the start of the conflict between Lebanon and Israel, the number of attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon has climbed to 149, with 100 deaths and 233 injured.
Situation in Lebanon remains extremely fragile, volatile: UN spokesman
