Lebanon: Flash Update #43 - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 11 November 2024

This report is produced by OCHA Lebanon in collaboration with humanitarian partners and the Inter Sector Coordination Group. It covers the period from 08 to 11 November 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 3,287 people killed and 14,222 injured since 8 October 2023, including at least 203 children and 644 women killed (MoPH).
• 878,497 people internally displaced of whom 52% female and 48% male (IOM).
• 103 attacks on healthcare facilities, with 145 health workers killed and 123 injured while on duty, since 8 October 2023 (WHO).
• Of the $426 million requested in the Flash Appeal, only 23.5% has been received, according to preliminary information reported through the Lebanon Aid Tracking.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The ongoing conflict continues to claim lives, uproot communities, and destroy homes and critical infrastructure. Intensified Israeli airstrikes have had major impacts in South Lebanon, Nabatieh, Bekaa,
Baalbeck-Hermel, and Mount Lebanon governorates. An airstrike on a residential building in Lebanon’s northern Akkar on 11 November reportedly killed at least 18 people and injured 14 according to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). On 10 November, a strike on a home sheltering displaced families in Aalmat town in Jbeil, Mount Lebanon Governorate, killed at least 23 people, including seven children.
Incidents in previous weeks have repeatedly targeted residential buildings hosting displaced people, including a strike in Aito-Zgharta, North Lebanon and in Barja-Chouf, Mount Lebanon, which together claimed over 40 lives. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, called for the protection of civilians and urgent adherence to international humanitarian law as the conflict has taken a heavy toll and is tragically claiming children’s lives.

In addition to attacks on areas sheltering civilians, airstrikes on health facilities and workers continue to be recorded by WHO, interrupting operations in 127 health facilities and eight hospitals, and reducing the functionality of nine hospitals. The first week of November saw three attacks on health services, and 2 deaths and 7 injuries among health workers, according to WHO.

UNIFIL reports numerous violations since the escalation of violence across the Blue Line in late September, including more than a half a dozen direct attacks on peacekeepers. The most recent incident occurred on 8 November, when two Israeli army excavators and one bulldozer reportedly destroyed part of a fence and a concrete structure in a UNIFIL position in Ras Naqoura.

Under the deteriorating conditions across a number of areas in Lebanon, the number of casualties continues to increase with at least 241 people killed and 642 injured in a single week (4-11 November) due to Israeli airstrikes, according to the Ministry of Public Health. According to UNICEF, at least one child was killed and 10 children were injured every day in Lebanon, in October 2024 alone. With more than 200 children killed since the conflict started in 2023, UNICEF has sounded the alarm over the devastating impacts of growing violence and forced displacement, urging for parties to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law and protect children. Additionally, UNICEF says that the ongoing conflict in Lebanon has left 300,000 people in critical need of essential nutrition and early childhood development services.

According to UNFPA, out of the estimated 1.2 million people affected by the conflict in Lebanon, over 336,000 are women of reproductive age struggling to access essential sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal care, menstrual supplies, and contraception- with an estimated 13,900 women currently pregnant and 1,550 expected to give birth in the next month. Protection risks, including sexual exploitation and abuse, have intensified in overcrowded shelters, where access to support services remains limited, as per UNFPA.

Lebanon’s food insecurity is set to worsen if hostilities persist in the Bekaa and the South, which account for more than 60 per cent of Lebanon’s agricultural production. WFP market assessments point to food supply disruptions in Beirut, while in conflict-affected areas, such as Nabatieh and Baalbek-El Hermel, 80 per cent and 42 per cent of stores are closed, respectively. Additionally, Mercy Corps has highlighted losses of an estimated US$480 million to the public water and energy sectors across the country since October 2023.

On 7 November, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and higher Education (MEHE) reported that 350 schools are offering in-person classes, 397 are providing remote learning, and 45 schools are functioning as shelters while also hosting separate in-person learning spaces. Approximately 220,000 students have been registered, including 44,350 displaced children. To support blended learning, hybrid classrooms will be set up in schools and digital hubs will be created at shelters, providing internet and devices to help displaced students access education.