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In response to the ongoing escalation in Lebanon, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is urgently seeking US$ 12.3 million to fund its priority emergency response over the next 90 days. These funds are required to address the immediate needs for food, shelter, health, protection, water and sanitation services for up to 10,000 individuals seeking safety in UNRWA-managed collective emergency shelters in Lebanon, and for up to 63,000 vulnerable conflict-impacted Palestine Refugees living outside of these shelters. In providing assistance, UNRWA will focus on serving the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities, persons with fragile legal status, and the elderly.
Lebanon context and needs
Cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated on 2 March with the entry of Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the Iran war. The Government of Israel issued displacement warnings and orders on 5 March impacting over 100 villages in the area south of the Litani River and the Bekaa region, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs.1 Airstrikes intensified across the southern suburbs of Beirut, the governorates of the South, Saida and the Bekaa. Two targeted airstrikes also hit the Palestine Refugee camps of Ein El Hilweh (Saida) and Beddawi (Tripoli). As a result, as of 9 March, over 500,000 people are estimated to have been displaced within Lebanon, with over 100,000 people moving to collective shelters.2 Further displacement is anticipated as the situation remains fluid. The Government of Lebanon suspended education services nationwide, affecting students across the country, including 34,541 children enrolled in UNRWA schools.
In response to the arrival of displaced Palestine Refugees, Lebanese and Syrian families in search of greater safety from conflict-affected areas in the South and in Beirut, the Agency has activated its emergency response. By 6 March, UNRWA had opened two collective shelters, in Siblin (Saida area) and in Nahr el-Bared (North area), providing ready‑to‑eat meals, safe drinking water, mattresses, pillows, hygiene items, and other essential non‑food items (NFIs). In line with humanitarian principles and to support social cohesion, the Agency shelters are open to all persons in need, irrespective of status or nationality. As at 9 March, 1,420 individuals had been registered in the UNRWA shelters, with numbers expected to increase as the conflict intensifies.