Lebanon at ‘breaking point’ as displacement soars and strikes intensify

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN’s top humanitarian official warned the Security Council on Tuesday that Lebanon is facing one of its most dangerous moments in years, with escalating violence, mass displacement and deepening human suffering pushing the country to “breaking point”.

Briefing ambassadors from Beirut, Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said he arrived to find “anxiety and tensions at levels I have not witnessed in many years”, as airstrikes and drone activity continue to shake the capital and surrounding areas.

“The situation on both sides of the Blue Line demands not only the Council’s closest attention, but also your collective action to avert an even worse crisis,” he stressed, describing the discussion as “urgent”.

Mr. Fletcher said the humanitarian toll has worsened sharply. “Over the past four weeks, more than 1,240 people have been killed… and another 3,500 injured,” he said, noting that women, children and first responders are among the dead.

‘Coercive displacement’

More than 1.1 million people were displaced in that time, including hundreds of thousands of children. “A cycle of coercive displacement is unfolding,” he warned, with families repeatedly forced to flee. “Displacement is not a solution, but a painful last resort… a temporary way to preserve dignity.”

He said civilians on both sides of the line are living in fear, as rockets continue to be fired into northern Israel while Israeli strikes devastate parts of southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley. Entire villages have been flattened, and vital infrastructure destroyed, including most bridges south of the Litani river.

“Civilians, wherever they are, in Israel and in Lebanon, must be protected,” Mr. Fletcher said, underscoring that international humanitarian law requires distinction, proportionality and precaution. “Healthcare, water and electricity…must also and always be spared.”

Isolation grows

The impact on basic services is severe, with hospitals and clinics forced to close and schools turned into shelters. “Entire communities are becoming increasingly isolated,” he added.

Despite the crisis, humanitarian agencies have scaled up operations, delivering millions of meals and essential supplies. But funding remains short. Of a $308 million emergency appeal, only $94 million has been received so far.

Above all, Mr. Fletcher conveyed a direct message from those affected: “They want safety. They want dignity. They want this to stop.”

He urged Council members to act decisively, posing stark questions about how civilians will be protected, how the international community should respond to mass displacement, and how to prevent further political instability.

Turning to the Lebanese people, he offered a message of solidarity and resolve: “Don’t give up on the idea of Lebanon. If co-existence fails here, it stands to fail everywhere.”

“We have often said that we cannot let Lebanon fail,” he concluded. “Now is a real test of that promise.”

Peacekeeper killings ‘should not have happened’

The emergency meeting was called by France after three Indonesian peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed this week, and several others seriously wounded, in two separate incidents that occurred within a 24-hour period and amid the wider war in the region. 

“These tragic developments should not have happened,” said UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who briefed alongside Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari and the UN relief chief. 

UNIFIL is conducting investigations to determine the circumstances of “the two abhorrent incidents” but peacekeepers are also facing “a worrying increase in denials of freedom of movement and aggressive behaviour,” Mr. Lacroix reported.

“We say it clearly, and there has been a need to say it far too often: Peacekeepers must never be a target,” he stressed. 

“All acts that endanger the peacekeepers must immediately stop…The inviolability of United Nations installations must be respected.”

In the interim, UNIFIL continuously reassesses its deployment to mitigate risks and strengthen force protection.  The mission remains in constant contact with the parties “to avoid misunderstandings, de-conflict and de-escalate where possible.”

Council backing, ‘indispensable’

He underscored the critical need to support the sides in fully implementing Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), which ended hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah two decades ago.

“In this exceptionally dangerous period, the Council’s strong and unified backing for UNIFIL and its peacekeepers is not merely important – it is indispensable,” he said.

“The women and men serving under this mandate must know that this Council stands firmly behind them.”

To see all our live coverage of the crisis in the Gulf from today, go here, and for full speaker-by-speaker coverage of this important emergency meeting on the Middle East crisis, visit our UN Meetings Coverage site here.