UN warns of widening crisis as Israeli attacks displace 816,000 in Lebanon

United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday that Lebanon faces "a moment of grave peril" as Israeli attacks continue to forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of people.

“Lebanon faces “a moment of grave peril” as Israel continues to launch deadly attacks across the country, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of people, the United Nations humanitarian chief has warned”

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Fletcher said "mass displacement is accelerating" and warned that large-scale movements are pushing displaced people into densely populated urban areas where shelter capacity is already overstretched.

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Lebanese authorities said more than 816,000 displaced people had been registered across the country since the intensified Israeli attacks began last week, with 126,000 people residing in 589 collective shelters.

Hundreds of shelters are overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation and insufficient essential supplies, raising the risk of harassment, sexual violence, exploitation, abuse and trafficking, particularly for women and girls.

Israel began carrying out intensified attacks on Lebanon last week after Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israeli territory following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks on February 28.

The Israeli military has launched a widespread aerial and ground assault against its northern neighbour, bombing areas across the country in what it says is a campaign against the Lebanese armed group.

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Israel has issued forced displacement orders for all of southern Lebanon as well as the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, sowing chaos as thousands of families fled their homes under fear of attack.

At least 634 people have been killed and 1,586 others wounded in Israeli attacks so far, according to the latest figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

“Lebanon faces “a moment of grave peril” as Israel continues to launch deadly attacks across the country, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of people, the United Nations humanitarian chief has warned”

Al Jazeera

The death toll includes dozens of women, children and paramedics, the ministry said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said a volunteer named Youssef Assaf was killed in the southern city of Tyre while carrying out humanitarian work and warned that healthcare workers, hospitals, ambulances and medical transports must be respected and protected.

Concerns are growing about the fate of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians, particularly children, who have been displaced in recent days.

A 10-year-old boy named Adam said in a video shared by UNICEF that the attacks "sounded like thunder" and that "it felt like the whole world was on fire," adding "My heart was pounding. I was crying in fear."

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Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reported that the vast majority of displaced people are not in public shelters but are sleeping in abandoned buildings, schools and makeshift tent encampments along Beirut’s Corniche, with no education for children and no chance to return home.

Othman Belbeisi of the International Organization for Migration said resources are limited, safe areas are becoming less safe, many displaced families left only with their clothes, and there is fear and a high level of uncertainty.