Nearly one million displaced and hospitals under attack deepen the emergency in Lebanon

The UN warned of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions amid the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah and called for more funding to assist 1.4 million people.

In early June, the United Nations (UN) doubled its humanitarian appeal for Lebanon of US$640 million amid the escalation of the conflict between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah.

In this regard, the United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) stated that the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is extremely serious and that the country is deteriorating. OCHA also said that “repeated displacement, insufficient shelter capacity and limited prospects for a safe return are compounding vulnerability.”

At the same time, the UN agency warned that those affected are exhausting their coping capacities and that essential services are under growing pressure.

In an initial phase of the emergency, the UN had requested US$308 million to support the Lebanese government’s emergency response until the end of May. However, it later stated that an additional US$331.5 million would be needed through the end of August.

OCHA reported that only US$185.9 million of the initial appeal had been received, adding that this amount made it possible to assist approximately 680,000 people between March 2 and May 31.

The humanitarian office also noted that the goal is to more than double that figure to reach 1.4 million people, around a quarter of the population, who need humanitarian assistance in Lebanon.

For its part, the Lebanese government stated that Israeli attacks had caused more than 3,500 deaths since Hezbollah drew the country into the regional war in the Middle East on March 2, launching rockets at Israel in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader.

Since then, around one million Lebanese have been forced to flee their homes across the country, while more than 1.2 million people face acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations humanitarian appeal.

Attacks on health services

In early June, Lebanese authorities reported that at least 86 people, including health workers, were injured following Israeli attacks on the Jabal Amel Hospital, located in the city of Tyre, in southwestern Lebanon.

In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the country reported that the attacks caused significant damage to the emergency department and the intensive care unit. “These attacks kill and maim, and they also deprive the population of the health services it needs,” said Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative.

Abubakar stressed that Jabal Amel is one of the few hospitals currently operating in the south.

According to reports, the Hiram hospital was also attacked during those same days. Meanwhile, the third hospital was “overwhelmed as it had to cope with the influx of an ever-growing number of injured patients,” the WHO representative said.

In just three months, the WHO verified nearly 190 attacks on the health sector, which killed 128 health workers and injured another 332. It also highlighted that 11 attacks took place in the last week of the period surveyed alone.

The blue helmets

Earlier, Israel had bombed an area near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in the town of Marjayoun, in the south of the country. In the June 4 bombing, one peacekeeper was killed and two others were injured after mortar shells struck them. The victim was identified as Sergeant Milovan Jovanović, a 36-year-old Serbian national.

According to reports, the soldier was seriously injured and was airlifted to a hospital in Beirut shortly after the attack. The other two injured peacekeepers, one Spanish and one Salvadoran, remained under treatment at a mission medical facility in southern Lebanon.

The UN mission opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the incident. Initial information indicated that the projectile was “indirect fire coming from north of the Litani River,” the UN spokesperson said.

With the death of Milovan Jovanović, seven peacekeepers had been killed in Lebanon since hostilities resumed on March 2, 2026.

For his part, the Secretary-General stated that attacks against peacekeeping personnel must cease immediately and recalled that they constitute serious violations of international law and may amount to war crimes.

The humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains critical, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced and heavy pressure on the health system. The United Nations and humanitarian organizations continue to call for greater international funding and for the protection of the civilian population and medical infrastructure, while reiterating the need to guarantee safe access for humanitarian aid and respect for international humanitarian law amid ongoing hostilities.