UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plassert said in a statement that Israel has again targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatih.
According to him, as the intensity and scope of shelling increases, human suffering is reaching unprecedented heights. Five people were reported killed in the attack and the dead included the mayor of Nabatean and humanitarian aid workers.
Security on both sides of the Blue Line cannot and will not be achieved through military solutions, the Special Coordinator said. The Blue Line is the line separating Israel and Lebanon, where several peacekeepers have been wounded by Israeli military fire in recent days.
Jeanine Hennis-Plassert called on all parties concerned to immediately cease firing and called for a diplomatic solution focused on the needs of civilians and regional stability.
Imran Riza, the UN’s top humanitarian official in Lebanon, echoed those concerns and expressed anger that Israeli airstrikes have increased in recent weeks, causing heavy civilian casualties and widespread destruction across the country.
According to humanitarian officials, health care facilities, frontline aid workers, civil protection centers and water supply systems have been hit by violent clashes in Lebanon. It has been reported that these services are on the verge of collapse and this must be stopped from happening
Challenges for Syria
Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has warned that the growing number of people fleeing the war in Lebanon and seeking refuge in Syria is adding to the challenges for the country. The UN agency has requested assistance from the international community to address the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
More than 260,000 people have so far crossed the border into Syria to escape the bombings and Israeli airstrikes, said WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Schau.
The same families that forced the World Food Program to stop food aid in Syria due to a lack of aid funds are now helping displaced people from Lebanon.
The UN agency says the food security situation in Syria is deteriorating. More than half of the country’s population is already food insecure, with more than 3 million people suffering from acute hunger.
Syrian families who cannot be reunited are hosting people fleeing the war in Lebanon, making an already difficult situation even worse.