Lebanon at breaking point, UN humanitarian chief tells Security Council

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on 31 March 2026 to address the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon, where over 1,240 people have been killed in the past four weeks, including 87 women and 124 children. Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Council from Beirut, describing levels of anxiety, tension, and despondency he had not witnessed in many years working in and on Lebanon. He reported that more than 1.1 million people have been displaced, including over 370,000 children, with more than 200,000 people crossing into Syria in the past month. Fletcher detailed the destruction of critical infrastructure, including six of eight bridges south of the Litani River — a result of Israeli strikes — leaving an estimated 150,000 people isolated and out of reach of humanitarian convoys. He noted that 51 primary healthcare centres and four hospitals have been forced to close by Israeli attacks, with schools serving as shelters for displaced families. Fletcher expressed solidarity with the families of three UN peacekeepers killed in recent days and warned that a "cycle of coercive displacement" is unfolding across southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs, and the Bekaa Valley. He concluded with three urgent questions for the Security Council: how they will protect civilians, how the international community will prepare for potential new occupied territories, and how they will address the risk of internal political strife in Lebanon. Subscribe to our channel: bit.ly
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