UN doubles Lebanon aid appeal to nearly 640 mln dollars amid Israeli strikes

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday doubled its aid appeal for Lebanon to nearly 640 million U.S. dollars to address the worsening humanitarian crisis caused by the prolonged regional conflict.

In March this year, the United Nations appealed for 308 million U.S. dollars to support the Lebanese government-led humanitarian response, but only 185 million U.S. dollars had been raised by the end of May. The OCHA said that in addition to achieving the initial fundraising target of 308 million U.S. dollars, an additional 331 million U.S. dollars is needed, to cover approximately 1.4 million people in the war-torn country.

"Today, we call for an additional 331.5 million dollars to sustain lifesaving efforts for 1.4 million people, bringing our overall ask for the flash appeal through August of this year to 639.9 million," said Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, at a press conference on Friday.

The agency said in its aid appeal that the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is severe and deteriorating, as the ongoing conflict has displaced nearly 1 million people, and health workers and emergency responders are "facing death and injury on a horrific scale." The conflict has also severely impacted Lebanon's healthcare and education systems, with 62 hospitals and medical facilities damaged or closed, and approximately 450 schools being used as temporary shelters for displaced persons, disrupting normal teaching activities, according to the OCHA.

"In the communities I have visited in recent weeks, I was shocked by the devastation of infrastructure and essential services. Hospitals and clinics hit by airstrikes, government buildings destroyed, agricultural land scorched, water stations demolished and schools turned to displacement sites," said Riza.

After the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb 28, Hezbollah in Lebanon, as Iran's main regional ally, began launching rockets into northern Israel on March 2. Israel, in turn, launched fierce airstrikes against southern and eastern Lebanon and the capital Beirut, and launched a ground military operation in southern Lebanon.

UN doubles Lebanon aid appeal to nearly 640 mln dollars amid Israeli strikes

UN doubles Lebanon aid appeal to nearly 640 mln dollars amid Israeli strikes

China's border inspection authorities processed a total of 499 million inbound and outbound passenger trips in the first eight months of 2026, up 8.7 percent year on year, official data showed on Thursday.

Of the total, 242 million entries and exits were made by mainland residents, 196 million made by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents, and 61.287 million made by foreign nationals, up 10 percent, 8.9 percent and 19.5 percent year on year, respectively.

Among foreign nationals entering China, 23.72 million entered visa-free, accounting for 77.6 percent of all foreign entries and marking a 26.8 percent increase year on year.

Border authorities inspected 28.148 million trips by various means of transportation, up 15 percent year on year. This included 665,000 flight trips, 75,000 train trips, 306,000 ship journeys, and 27.102 million motor vehicle trips, up 0.5 percent, 5.6 percent, 4.1 percent and 15.6 percent over the same period of last year, respectively. In recent years, the National Immigration Administration has rolled out a series of measures to facilitate cross-border movement of people and support high-level opening-up and high-quality development. These measures have significantly shortened clearance times for both Chinese and foreign travelers and transportation vehicles, while continuously improving port clearance convenience.

China sees surge in cross-border passenger trips in first eight months