The United Nations says the humanitarian situation in Lebanon is worse now than during the last war against Israel 18 years ago.
“The humanitarian situation in Lebanon has reached a level that exceeds the severity of the 2006 war,” the UN emergency aid agency OCHA said on Sunday.
“The situation has escalated again in recent days, with the Israeli army issuing displacement orders for residents of Baalbek and Nabatieh shortly before airstrikes targeted these locations.”
The agency said the toll on the population has been “exacerbated by the destruction of critical infrastructure, including healthcare, with many hospitals overwhelmed and reportedly urgently requesting blood donations to address the critical influx of victims.”
The current war between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8 last year with rocket attacks by the Lebanese Shia militia in support of the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, which had launched the Gaza war the day before with its terrorist attack on Israel.
Nearly 3,000 people have been killed and another 13,300 injured in Lebanon since then, according to official reports. The Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilians and members of Hezbollah in its lists.
The dead also include about 180 minors and 600 women. In its latest report, OCHA highlights that more than 11,000 pregnant women have been affected by the war, including 1,300 who had to give birth in a healthcare system on the verge of collapse.
Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza condemned attacks on civilians and infrastructure and called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities to protect vulnerable populations.”
