UNITED NATIONS (TDI): In view of enhanced air strikes and limited ground invasion against areas in Lebanon, The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has called for greater international support, fearing the intensive humanitarian catastrophe now engulfing Lebanon.
The APP reported on Monday that before appealing for immediate assistance he visited the affected areas.
According to APP, Grandi, the UNHCR chief who arrived in the capital Beirut on Saturday, said that hundreds of thousands have been made destitute in recent days and appealed for an immediate ceasefire.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees visited war-hit Lebanon on a solidarity mission at a time humanitarian assistance is needed more urgently , the report added.
UNHCR, has already warned of hurdles in supplies calling for supply routes within and into Lebanon to be preserved, so the flow of relief items can continue.
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The report quoted the UN official saying as, “International humanitarian law must be respected and cannot be ignored. Families have been left homeless, stranded in the open air with traumatized children unable to understand what’s happening. They all told me how desperate they are to feel safe, and for the airstrikes to stop so they can return to their towns and villages,” Grandi said.
As large numbers of people are displaced in the country in a couple of days and the government-run shelters cannot accommodate massive people, the report said.
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It added that the UNHCR is working with humanitarian partners and the authorities to urgently find safe shelter for those forced to flee.
UNHCR has launched an appeal for $111 million to assist one million displaced people in Lebanon through the end of 2024, as part of a wider UN appeal for $425.7 million.
Grandi’s visit to Lebanon included meeting displaced Syrian refugees in Beirut’s Nabaa neighbourhood, the report said.
According to the Lebanese health ministry over 2,000 Lebanese have been killed and nearly 10,000 wounded, besides tens of thousands of people displaced since the start of Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza a year ago.
