Lebanon: Flash Update #37 - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 21 October 2024

HIGHLIGHTS

• 2,483 people killed and 11,628 injured since 8 October (MoPH)
• 809,043 persons internally displaced since 8 October 2023, of which 52% female and 48% male (IOM).
• 191,912 people seeking refuge in 1,094 collective shelters, of which 901 have already reached capacity (DRM).
• On 21 October, a strike impacted an entrance to Rafic Hariri University Hospital, killing 13 people and injuring 57 individuals.
• Inter-agency mission delivered critical supplies to Jaboule, a hard-to-reach area in Baalbeck Governorate

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen in Lebanon as a result of intense and wide-scale hostilities, marked by violent strikes especially in the areas of South Lebanon, Bekaa, and Beirut’s southern suburbs. Thousands of people were reportedly displaced late on the night of 20-21 October, following Israeli displacement orders identifying a social finance network affiliated with Hezbollah, which were soon followed by airstrikes. An airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut destroyed a UNFPA-supported safe space for women and girlslocated next to a primary healthcare centre**.** The UN Human Rights Office in the Middle East and North Africa issued a statement condemning the extensive damage to civilian objects caused by the attacks against the financial association. The statement notes that the “attacks have caused extensive destruction to residential properties, civilian infrastructure, and business premises, in addition to indescribable panic and another wave of displacement among residents of those areas”.

Meanwhile, the healthcare system in Lebanon continues to face severe pressure. The Ministry of Health condemned Israeli attacks on the healthcare sector, noting the 21 October strike that impacted an entrance to Rafik Hariri University Governmental Hospital, killing 18 people, including four children, and injuring a further 60 individuals. In addition, threats to the Sahel Hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which was still partially operational despite insecure conditions, forced its rapid evacuation. As of 21 October, WHO has documented 45 attacks on medical facilities, 95 health workers being killed and 77 injured.