Thursday 05 / March / 2026
UNITED NATIONS: Middle East hostilities are severely impacting aid operations across the region, with disruptions to shipping and travel routes affecting relief supply chains, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also said the disruptions curb the movement of aid workers and threaten to worsen food insecurity in many areas.
OCHA said Lebanese authorities reported that more than 50 people were killed and hundreds more injured in the past two days. Widespread Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, Baalbek, Chouf and the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing further casualties and significant destruction. Three paramedics were killed and six injured while responding to an airstrike on Tuesday.
"Civilians continue to flee, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing and what they can carry," the office said. "Since the onset of hostilities, at least 80,000 people have sought refuge in collective shelters, according to the authorities. However, this represents only a fraction of all people who have been displaced."
Forced displacement orders continue to be issued, including one on Wednesday covering the entire area south of the Litani River, home to hundreds of thousands of people.
"Humanitarian partners are working closely with national and local authorities," OCHA said. "Rapid response teams are assessing needs and distributing emergency supplies in affected areas and collective shelters. So far, partners working in food security have reached more than 20,000 displaced people with hot meals and over 15,000 with ready-to-eat food."
The office said its health partners, together with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, are providing medicine and scaling up mobile primary health care services in shelters and other locations. Water and sanitation partners are supporting the continued operation of critical water and wastewater facilities, including by providing fuel.
In Gaza, the office said, while aid workers continue to press for the lifting of restrictions on aid deliveries, they report that the coordination of humanitarian movements with Israeli authorities in the Gaza Strip has resumed in the face of hostilities in the Middle East.
The office said its partners successfully coordinated on Wednesday three missions to the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing, to collect cargo and to monitor operations there.
OCHA once again underscores that more crossings must be open and a sustained flow of supplies, including fuel, must enter Gaza safely and predictably so aid agencies can continue scaling up humanitarian operations.
