Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon crisis: Intensifying violence is deadliest in decades, warn aid agencies
The past two months of intensifying Israeli bombardment in Lebanon have been the “deadliest and most devastating” in decades as communities uprooted from the front line flee continue to flee across the border to Syria, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
Highlighting the deepening the humanitarian catastrophe for civilians on Lebanon’s Independence Day, the UN refugee agency, UNCHR, warned of a prevailing sense of uncertainty and fear as the war grinds on.
“In recent weeks, Israel dramatically intensified its airstrikes and ground incursions and this has deepened the humanitarian catastrophe that has affected civilians,” said Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon. “The past few weeks have been the deadliest and the most devastating for Lebanon and people in decades.”
To date, close to one million people have been displaced across Lebanon - one in five of the population - and nearly 600,000 people have crossed the border into Syria.
According to the authorities, as of 20 November, there have been nearly 3,600 confirmed deaths including more than 230 children and more than 15,000 injured.
Speaking from the war-torn country, Mr. Freijsen appealed for international assistance to “ramp up winter assistance; it’s started to rain and in some areas the first snow has fallen…we have a huge collective effort in front of us we need to pursue in terms of creating better conditions for all the displaced through specific winter assistance and improved shelter.”
The UNHCR official stressed the need to ensure equal access to shelter for all displaced people, particularly refugees who were already in an acutely precarious situation before this crisis. The agency’s response includes counselling, community support and creating safe spaces for those most at risk. To date, it has reached more than 100,000 people during the current emergency and supports a network of 44 health facilities across the country including the provision of life-saving equipment, such as trauma kits.
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), one in 10 hospitals has ceased operations or been forced to reduce services as attacks continue on healthcare and personnel.
“A hallmark of the conflict in Lebanon is how destructive it has been to the healthcare and this is unprecedented in any level,” said Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO Representative in the country: Citing UN health agency data, he noted that nearly 330 healthcare workers have been killed in Lebanon since 8 October last year and “47 per cent of these attacks on healthcare have proven fatal”.
Asked to explain this high fatality ratio, Dr Abubakar added that on the front line “more ambulances have been targeted - and whenever the ambulance is targeted actually then you will have a three, four or five paramedics that have been killed”.
In an update from the Lebanon-Syria border crossing at Jdaidet Yabous, UNCHR’s Representative in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, reported that an estimated 560,000 people have sought shelter inside Syria since 24 September - about 65 per cent are Syrians and the remainder are Lebanese. Crossing the border remains extremely dangerous for civilians and humanitarians alike, however.
“It is clear from our interaction with those Syrians and Lebanese that we speak to at the border, that the bombings of the IDF of border crossings - including the one where I am here which has been bombed at least twice in the past few weeks - this has had a major effect in reducing the numbers. Syrians and Lebanese are very scared of using these escape routes,” said Mr. Vargas Llosa, speaking to journalists in Geneva via video link.
Around 50 Lebanese nationals are returning to Lebanon every day in response to the “disastrous” economic situation in Syria, along with a smaller number of Syrians, the UNHCR official continued.
“They're going back because they cannot make ends meet here because they're not getting enough support, and they think that they might also be better off in Lebanon. Again, these are very, very small numbers. But for us, even small numbers, are worrying signals.”
In a related development, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, condemned all attacks on aid staff globally, noting that 2024 has been the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, driven by the war in Gaza.
“The latest entry into the aid worker security database for this November is 10 national staff killed in Gaza,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke. “Since 7 October last year, at least 333 aid workers have been killed in Gaza alone; most are UNRWA staff members or our colleagues.”
Middle East update – OCHA, UNHCR, WHO
TRT: 03 min 27s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: For Lebanon healthcare footage shot 05 November 2024 please credit "WHO" and for footage of destruction in southern Lebanon shot 31 October 2024 please credit UNIFIL.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 22 NOVEMBER 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND.
Speakers:
SHOTLIST
The past two months of intensifying Israeli bombardment in Lebanon have been the “deadliest and most devastating” in decades as communities uprooted from the front line have continued to flee across the border to Syria, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ICRC , OHCHR , UNHCR
Myanmar’s military has continued to launch airstrikes and other attacks against opposition forces in the devastated country, one week since a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck and despite announcing a ceasefire, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday.