UN warns of widening crisis as Israeli attacks displace 750,000 in Lebanon

UN humanitarian chief says mass displacement accelerating as Lebanon’s shelters are already overcrowded, lack resources.

Lebanon faces “a moment of grave peril” as Israel continues to launch deadly attacks across the country, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of people, the United Nations humanitarian chief has warned.

Speaking to the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday, Tom Fletcher said “mass displacement is accelerating” across Lebanon as a result of the Israeli attacks, with more than 750,000 people now registered as displaced.

“We’re seeing large-scale movements into densely populated urban areas where shelter capacity is already overstretched,” Fletcher said.

“More than 120,000 people, including thousands of children, are now in 580 collective centres … These sites are overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation [and] insufficient essential supplies,” he told the council.

“These conditions heighten risk of harassment, sexual violence, exploitation, abuse [and] trafficking, particularly of course for women and girls.”