The United Nations on Friday said it is doubling the amount of money it says it needs to help Lebanon meet surging humanitarian needs, as the war enters its fourth month.
Imran Riza, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. Reuters/Ahmad Al-Kerdi
The United Nations on Friday said it is doubling the amount of money it says it needs to help Lebanon meet surging humanitarian needs, as the war enters its fourth month.
Lebanon was drawn into the wider regional war in early March when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, which was under U.S.-Israeli attack, prompting a major Israeli air and ground campaign.
Since March 2, more than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese authorities, whose data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since March.
The U.N. on Friday will launch a fresh aid appeal with the Lebanese government to seek an additional $331.5 million to reach 1.4 million people, bringing the total appeal to $639.9 million.
So far it has received $185.9 million as of May 31.
"In the past three months, communities across Lebanon have faced an appalling situation due to the escalation of hostilities," U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza said, pointing to high casualties, widespread displacement and extensive damage to infrastructure.
"The toll on civilians is alarming and worsening by the day."
By Olivia Le Poidevin
Ali al-Taher, the strategic ridge overlooking Nabatieh, was the site of a fresh Israeli military operation Thursday evening, with the army saying it destroyed "more than two kilometers of Hezbollah underground infrastructure" beneath the height, located north of the Litani River, roughly 15 kilometers from the Israeli border.
The U.S. government announced new sanctions on Thursday against firms and individuals that it says are aiding Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East as it intensified its campaign to isolate Iran economically.
Pakistan has delivered a Saudi warning to Iran to rein in its Yemeni Houthi allies after they stepped up attacks on the kingdom, in a coordinated effort to prevent the crisis from spiralling, Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources said.
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