UNHCR chief calls for 'urgent' support to Lebanon during war
United Nations refugee chief Barham Salih on Wednesday called on the international community to provide urgent support to Lebanon, where a fifth of the population has been displaced by Israel's war on the country.
"I call upon the international community to provide urgent support and relief to Lebanon," he said after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
"The humanitarian consequences of this war are immense, and I emphasise the need to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure from the ravages of attack. Lebanon does not deserve to be trapped in a recurring cycle of violence, it deserves support and stability."
He added that the UNHCR has received "a portion" of the $61 million it had appealed for during the war to support Lebanon in its "unprecedented" displacement crisis, as more than a million people are displaced by the conflict.
An elderly displaced woman sits in front of her tent along Beirut’s seafront area on 30 March 2026 (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP)