UNHCR: Lebanon Marks Independence Day Amid Violent Period
Date
11/22/2024 10:05:00 AM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
GENEVA, Nov 22 (KUNA) -- Marking Lebanon's Independence Day, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday "the country is facing its most violent period in decades" due to intensified Israeli air strikes and ground incursions.
UNHCR Lebanon Representative Ivo Freijsen spoke from Beirut, at a UN briefing in Geneva, saying that Lebanon reported more than 3,500 dead, 15,000 injured, and 1.3 million displaced, warning of escalating violence and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Lebanon and Syria.
He highlighted worsening conditions due to cold weather and rains, calling for international support to address the crisis.
Freijsen noted that Lebanon's Humanitarian Response Plan, launched by the Lebanese government with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in October, had received less than half of the 426 million dollars needed.
From Damascus, UNHCR Syria Representative Gonzalo Vargas Llosa reported in the same press briefing, that 557,000 people have fled to Syria, 80 percent of them women and children despite Israeli strikes disrupting border crossings.
Llosa warned of escalating strikes that endanger civilian aid workers and operations, stressing the need for more than emergency aid as the Syrian crisis continues. (end)
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