United Nations, Oct 2: More than 100,000 people have moved from Lebanon into Syria, as over 200,000 people have been displaced from southern Lebanon due to the evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, a UN spokesman said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the number of displaced people is expected to rise, as the Israeli Defense Forces continue to issue evacuation orders, including in 30 villages in south Lebanon, and those orders were issued between Monday and Tuesday, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Xinhua news agency reported.
In northern Israel, over 60,000 people remain displaced from their homes, said the spokesman at a daily briefing. The UN Refugee Agency continues to step up its emergency response and work with partners to provide urgent humanitarian and protection support in its response to those displaced in Lebanon.
The United Nations and its partners are supporting the Lebanese government’s response by providing food, nutrition for children, water and other essential supplies such as mattresses and hygiene kits. The United Nations Children’s Fund supported nearly 200 collective shelters hosting 50,000 displaced with essential supplies.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General appealed to the international community to urgently support the $426 million emergency flash humanitarian appeal that was launched in Beirut, Lebanon, earlier in the day. “Our humanitarian colleagues say that this money aims to support 1 million people with humanitarian assistance for the next three months,” said Dujarric.
The humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, has warned that without sufficient resources, humanitarians risk leaving the population of an entire country without the support they urgently need, he added.
IANS