UN humanitarian agencies said on Friday that Lebanon was witnessing the worst and worst situation in at least a generation.
“The UN and its partners are coordinating with our partners and the government of Lebanon to support relief efforts,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s top aid official in Lebanon. “This includes coordinating aid delivery, joint assessments and identifying the needs of affected populations.”
Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said from the capital Beirut that the people of the country have been living in constant fear for nearly a year, especially in southern Lebanon, as the Gaza war could reach them.
Currently, across Lebanon, thousands of people who have not previously been hit by Israeli attacks are fleeing to safety to escape Israeli bombardment.
Imran Riza said, in the last few days, about 700 people were killed and thousands were injured in the Israeli attack, and the infrastructure was also damaged. About 120,000 people were displaced in just a few hours.
He said, “We are also meeting people who are asking – ‘Which way is the road to Tripoli?’ How do we get there?’
Expect a relatively good security situation in Syria
The United Nations Refugee Agency – UNHCR said that in the last 24 hours, millions of people have fled to Syria where they hope for some measure of safety.
“The border posts through which people are entering Syria are safe so far,” said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Syria, from the Syria-Lebanon border.
“Naturally we are appealing not only to stop the bombings, but also not to target those running for safety,” Gonzalo Vargas Llosa said.
He said many of them are of Syrian origin who arrived in Lebanon in search of safety during the turmoil there. He also mentioned the nearly 1.5 million Syrians who have arrived in Lebanon since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.
An official of the United Nations refugee agency said that according to estimates, about 30,000 people have entered Syria so far, of which about 75-80 percent are of Syrian origin and the rest are Lebanese nationals and others.
…to be continued…