Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Lebanon by Tom Fletcher, USG for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

As delivered

Thank you, Mr. President, Ambassadors, Excellencies,

I appreciate the opportunity to brief the Council from Beirut, where I arrived last night to find anxiety and tensions at levels I have not witnessed in many years, working in and on Lebanon.

The gravity of this moment, as described by my colleagues, was, of course, forefront of my meetings today with President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and I will discuss the moment further with Speaker Berri tomorrow.

I’ve heard again in my meetings the courageous call for dialogue with Israel for implement of UNSCR 1701 and for full state authority over arms.

Yet even now, sounds of the airstrikes in the Beirut suburbs, not far from here, can be heard, and the hum of drones has been constant.

As you already heard from [Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre] Lacroix and [Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Khaled] Khiari, today’s discussion is, therefore, urgent.

The situation on both sides of the Blue Line demands not only the Council’s closest attention, but also your collective action to avert an even worse crisis.

I join my colleagues in mourning the recent deaths of three UN peacekeepers.

Since I last briefed you on 11 March, the humanitarian consequences of the latest regional escalation have grown even more acute across Lebanon.

Over the past four weeks, more than 1,240 people have been killed, including 87 women and 124 children. Some 52 first responders are among those killed, and another 3,500 people have been injured.

Hostilities continue across southern Lebanon, across Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Dahiyeh, and parts of the Bekaa. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in harm’s way, especially with military advances flattening entire villages.

Meanwhile, rockets also continue to be fired indiscriminately by Hezbollah over the Blue Line into northern Israel, causing harm and fear among civilians there.

In Lebanon, more than 1.1 million people have been displaced over the past four weeks, including more than 370,000 children. Over 200,000 people have crossed over into Syria in the past month. A cycle of coercive displacement is unfolding.

Displacement on this scale, of course, heightens exposure to additional dangers, particularly for women and girls living in overcrowded and unfamiliar settings.

I saw the impact of that myself this morning. Lebanese and Syrian families I spoke to talked of deep uncertainty, their resilience stretched thin, growing frustration at being unable to return home safely. Many Lebanese families described fleeing fighting in 2024, only to do again in 2026. I met Syrians, displaced many times since 2013, recounting their latest upheaval.

People told me consistently that displacement is not a solution, but a painful last resort for them – a temporary way to preserve dignity while they wait for conditions that allow them to go back to their villages and neighbourhoods.

Above all, they asked us not to reduce their suffering to numbers: they want their lives, their losses and their hopes to be seen and to be heard.

Mr. President,

Even before this latest violence, tens of thousands remained displaced and entire communities were surviving with only partial access to healthcare, water, electricity and education.

The current escalation is compounding a situation that is already critical: 51 primary healthcare centres and four hospitals are currently closed due to hostilities, with others damaged or operating at reduced capacity. Schools and public universities are being used as shelters, leaving thousands of children without access to learning.

Six of the eight bridges south of the Litani river have now been destroyed, and more vital infrastructure is under attack. Essential access routes have been damaged. Growing constraints hinder civilians’ ability to move to safety and humanitarian partners’ ability to reach those most in need. Entire communities are becoming increasingly isolated.

International humanitarian law is clear: Civilians, wherever they are, in Israel and in Lebanon, must be protected. This includes allowing them to move away from the dangers of hostilities to safer areas. Essential infrastructure and basic services – healthcare, water, electricity – on which civilians depend must also and always be spared.

This is what the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution demand of all parties.

And, of course, the work of medical personnel, first responders and humanitarians must always be facilitated, not impeded.

Mr. President,

We are making a concerted attempt to meet this moment. On 13 March, together with the Government of Lebanon, we launched a US$308 million Flash Appeal to provide lifesaving support to up to one million people over the next three months.

Thanks to all the donors who have responded so far with support, especially in such a difficult moment for global funding. We’ve received $94 million so far, including a third of that from OCHA [the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs], and the Appeal continues rallying funds for lifesaving assistance, even as so much more is still needed.

In the last four weeks, we have scaled up our humanitarian operations, delivering 2.8 million hot and cold meals to help ensure adequate sustenance. I saw myself this morning 3,000 of those meals ready for distribution.

Non-food support has also grown to keep pace with large populations on the move. More than 122,000 thermal blankets, 99,000 mattresses and nearly 50,000 sleeping mats have been provided; 58,000 hygiene kits and 26,000 menstrual hygiene kits have also been distributed.

Humanitarian partners have delivered more than 875,000 litres of bottled drinking water and 15,000 cubic metres of trucked water. Fuel has been supplied to sustain water services for 412,000 people.

Mr. President,

In my short time back in Lebanon, the message from communities here is painfully clear:

They want safety. They want dignity. They want this to stop. They want to escape this cycle of crises.

And they look to Members of this Council to heed these calls.

We have often said that we cannot let Lebanon fail. Now is a real test of that promise.

Lebanon is often said to be at breaking point, yet so often finds the resilience somehow to pull though. Now, it is once again at breaking point.

So I have three messages for the Lebanese people.

First, continue to respond with generosity to your fellow Lebanese. You are the humanitarian frontlines right now. I know you will meet this moment.

Second, retain a commitment to national identity. You must rise above the forces that seek to divide you.

And third, don’t give upon the idea of Lebanon. If co-existence fails here, it stands to fail everywhere.

And, finally, Mr. President, my three asks for this Council:

First, given the trajectory that some Israeli ministers have described, and given what we have seen in plain sight in Gaza, how will you protect civilians?

Secondly, given the intensity of the coercive displacement that we are seeing, how should we prepare collectively as the international community for a new addition to the list of occupied territories?

And thirdly, given the political tension here in Lebanon and the fragility of political structures, how should we prepare for the potential terror of a fresh round of internal targeting and political strife?

These questions are daunting – they are not easy, they are challenging. But they are precisely the kind of questions that the Security Council and the United Nations must confront if we, too, are to meet this moment.

Thank you, Mr. President.