UN Agencies Say Lebanon’s Acute Food Insecurity Hits 1.17 Million People April-June 2025

Lebanon is facing acute food insecurity affecting 1.17 million people between April and June 2025, according to United Nations agencies, with the UN saying this is a “slight improvement” from a previous assessment that found 1.65 million people in emergency levels of food insecurity.

The UN News report also states that “prior to the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah,” 1.26 million people, or 23% of the population, were already in acute food insecurity.

Al Jazeera

It projects that food insecurity is expected to persist, adding that “Food insecurity is expected to rise during the projection period and affect 1.24 million people, or 23% of the total analyzed population, between July and October 2025.”

The UN report says more than 590,000 Lebanese residents (15% of the resident population), 515,000 Syrian refugees (37% of the total Syrian refugee population in Lebanon) and 67,000 Palestinian refugees (30% of the total Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon) are facing acute food insecurity.

It also names the regions most affected as Baalbek, El Hermel, Baabda, Bent Jbeil, Marjayoun, El Nabatieh, Sour and Akkar.

In parallel, a UN-backed IPC analysis described by Al Jazeera says “1.24 million people were ‘expected to face food insecurity’ at crisis levels or worse between April and August,” and says the figure marks a “significant deterioration” compared with the outlook before the war erupted on March 2.

The World Food Program USA version of the same IPC analysis says 1.24 million people are expected to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse “between April and August 2026,” and frames it as “nearly one in four of the population analysed.”

The UN News report attributes the “slight improvement” in acute food insecurity between April and June 2025 to the “November 2024 ceasefire,” while also warning that recovery efforts are hampered by “the deterioration of infrastructure, stagnating economy, rising inflation and slow financing of aid.”

It says the study points to the prolonged impact of the conflict, noting that “Despite a significant de-escalation following the ceasefire, the consequences of the conflict persist,” and it puts damages valued at about $14 billion.

Food and Agriculture Organization

The UN also says the vulnerabilities linked to displacement continue to affect returnees, stating that “about 967,000 people had returned by early April 2025” and that there are about 100,000 internally displaced persons.

It adds that “Additional pressures are also mounting due to the arrival of new refugees from Syria,” which “aggravate humanitarian needs and strain available resources.”

In the Al Jazeera account, a ceasefire that took effect on April 17 “has reduced the intensity of the fighting between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah,” while also saying the war has killed more than 2,500 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million, according to Lebanese authorities.

Al Jazeera further says Israeli forces are operating in south Lebanon near the border, where residents have been warned not to return, and that both sides have been trading fire despite the truce.

The Reuters-based WTVB report similarly describes the conflict as nearly two months between Israel and Hezbollah, saying it “has displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon,” and it ties the latest conflict to March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Across the reporting, the common thread is that even with a ceasefire, the UN-backed IPC outlook expects food insecurity to deepen without sustained support, with the Al Jazeera statement saying “Acute food insecurity is likely to deepen without sustained and timely humanitarian and livelihood support.”

The UN-backed reporting includes direct statements from senior UN officials and Lebanese authorities linking food insecurity to conflict, displacement, and economic pressures.

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Roya News

In Al Jazeera’s account, WFP country director Allison Oman Lawi says, “Families who were just managing to cope are now being pushed back into crisis as conflict, displacement and rising costs collide, making food increasingly unaffordable.”

The same report quotes FAO representative Nora Ourabah Haddad saying, “Compounded shocks are undermining agricultural livelihoods and impacting food security, highlighting the urgent need for emergency agricultural assistance to support farmers and prevent further deterioration.”

The World Food Program USA version of the IPC analysis repeats Lawi’s warning, quoting, “The fragility we warned about in the previous IPC analysis has unfortunately proven to be true,” and adds, “Hard won gains have been swiftly reversed.”

It also quotes Haddad again, stating, “This confirms continued and deepening fragility in rural and agrifood systems. Compounded shocks are undermining agricultural livelihoods and impacting food security, highlighting the urgent need for emergency agricultural assistance to support farmers and prevent further deterioration.”

The Reuters-based WTVB report includes a quote from Lebanese Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani telling Reuters, “[After] a war like this war, the agriculture sector would need years and years of rehabilitation,” and it says he added that the sector had not yet fully recovered from a 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel when the regional conflict began.

WTVB also includes a quote from the same minister about costs, saying he noted the 2024 war had hiked costs of diesel on which most farmers rely for their equipment.

In the FAO’s own regional office write-up, WFP Representative Matthew Hollingworth says, “Sixty-six days of war, preceded by months of conflict, have broken lives and livelihoods,” and Acting FAO Representative Veronica Quattrola says, “The escalation of hostilities has had grave repercussions on farmers’ livelihoods, as well as on agricultural assets and infrastructure, increasing food insecurity and threatening the sustainability of agricultural activities.”

While the core message across outlets is that food insecurity is worsening in Lebanon, the reporting diverges on time windows and some baseline comparisons, reflecting different IPC projection periods and assessment dates.

UN News says 1.17 million people experience acute food insecurity between April and June 2025 and that “Food insecurity is expected to rise during the projection period and affect 1.24 million people, or 23% of the total analyzed population, between July and October 2025,” while Al Jazeera describes a joint statement that expects “1.24 million people” to face crisis levels “between April and August” and says this is a “significant deterioration” from an estimate of 874,000 people before the war erupted on March 2.

The New Indian Express

The World Food Program USA post frames the IPC projected analysis as “between April and August 2026,” and it says the deterioration is from “the period of November 2025 through March 2026, when an estimated 874,000 people, roughly 17 percent of the population, were experiencing acute food insecurity.”

WTVB, also based on Reuters, says “More than 1 million people in Lebanon are expected to face a food insecurity crisis in the months ahead” and quotes the IPC finding that “1.24 million will be unable to consistently meet basic food needs” and will be forced to reduce “the quality and quantity of foods consumed.”

The FAO’s regional office write-up adds another comparison point, saying “about 1.65 million people” are facing crisis or emergency hunger levels (IPC phase 3 or higher), up from “1.26 million before the escalation,” and it specifies that “more than 200,000 are in emergency (IPC Phase 4), i.e., twice as many as before.”

These differences sit alongside consistent drivers described across outlets: conflict, displacement, and economic pressures, with Al Jazeera stating the deterioration is due to “conflict, displacement and economic pressures” and the UN News report pointing to “the deterioration of infrastructure, stagnating economy, rising inflation and slow financing of aid.”

Even the geographic emphasis varies, with UN News naming Baalbek, El Hermel, Baabda, Bent Jbeil, Marjayoun, El Nabatieh, Sour and Akkar, while WFP USA highlights “conflict affected areas particularly in Bent Jbeil, Marjeyoun, Sour and Nabatiyeh districts, , where displacement and market disruptions are most pronounced, followed by Baalbeck El Hermel.”

The sources describe a set of consequences and next steps that hinge on funding, humanitarian support, and agricultural recovery, with repeated warnings that food insecurity will deepen without sustained action.

UN News says the UN Lebanon humanitarian appeal of $371 million has been funded at 22%, leaving a funding gap of $289 million, and it concludes that “The continued decline in aid levels is expected to lead to a further deterioration of food security conditions.”

UN News

It also says recovery is hampered by “slow financing of aid” and that the study expects levels of food insecurity to persist over coming months.

Al Jazeera’s joint statement warns that “Acute food insecurity is likely to deepen without sustained and timely humanitarian and livelihood support,” and it ties the deterioration to “conflict, displacement and economic pressures” amid the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah.

WTVB adds that the IPC analysis says 1.24 million people will be unable to consistently meet basic food needs and will be forced to reduce “the quality and quantity of foods consumed, or resort to harmful coping strategies to survive,” while also describing how the nearly two-month war has displaced more than 1.2 million people and driven up food prices.

The Reuters report also provides concrete agriculture-related constraints, saying “More than 76% of south Lebanon’s farmers have been displaced and 22% of all agricultural land damaged” in the latest bout of fighting, and it quotes Nizar Hani saying the sector would need “years and years of rehabilitation.”

WFP USA emphasizes that risks are intensifying as “the spring planting window closes,” and it warns that “Without urgent support, missed planting seasons will lead to production losses, deepening food insecurity and increasing humanitarian needs in the months ahead.”

In the FAO regional office write-up, WFP Representative Matthew Hollingworth frames the immediate mission as rebuilding lives and food systems, saying, “At this critical moment, our mission is clear: to help the government and the population rebuild their lives and their food systems.”