UN more than doubles Lebanon aid appeal to $640 million amid Israel-Hezbollah war

The UN has more than doubled its aid appeal for Lebanon as the country reels from Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying nearly $640 million was needed over six months.

“The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is severe and deteriorating,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA says in a revised appeal for the country.

“Repeated displacements, insufficient shelter capacity and limited prospects for safe return are deepening vulnerability,” it says, warning that “affected people are rapidly exhausting their coping capacities, and essential services are under increasing strain.”

The UN had appealed for $308 million in March to support a massive emergency response led by Lebanon’s government through to the end of May.

It says now that another $331 million will be needed through the end of August.

Only $185 million has so far been received out of the initial appeal, says the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), adding that the amount has helped provide assistance to around 680,000 people between March 2 and May 31.

The aim now, it says, is to more than double that number to reach all of the 1.4 million people in Lebanon — around a quarter of the population — estimated to need humanitarian assistance in the country.

Nearly one million people have fled their homes while more than 1.2 million are facing acute food insecurity, the new appeal shows.

Price pressure is adding to the misery, with the cost of water, fuel and electricity up more than a third nationally, and as high as 70 percent in the conflict-affected areas, it says.

It also highlights the strain that the conflict is placing on healthcare in Lebanon, with 62 hospitals and other health facilities either damaged or closed.

OCHA says nearly 450 schools are being used to shelter displaced people, driving learning loss and drop-out risks.