UN migration agency calls for humanitarian access, increased support for Lebanon

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday called on the international community to work urgently on restoring peace in Lebanon and mobilizing more resources to respond to the "dire" humanitarian crisis.

"Our message today is loud and clear. It is a message of solidarity with all people in Lebanon," IOM’s Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels told the Lebanon aid conference held in Paris.

"We need to see concrete actions to end the hostilities, and we need the resources and the access to bring lifesaving aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians gravely affected by the ongoing fighting," Daniels added.

Nothing that the crisis has equally affected the Lebanese population, refugees, and migrants, she said that over a million people have become displaced or left the country, including Syrians who returned to Syria to seek safety.

"They all urgently require shelter, food, hygiene supplies, healthcare, protection, and psychosocial support," she said. 

Lebanon was already reeling from a protracted political and socio-economic crisis before the ongoing escalation, Daniels noted, with more than 3.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

According to the IOM estimates, 180,000 migrants from nearly 100 countries were living in Lebanon prior to the crisis, mostly female domestic workers, and almost one in 10 of them have been displaced by the conflict and most of them have been affected, including those who have not been displaced.

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon since last month against what it says are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza.

At least 2,574 people have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 this year by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.