Lebanon: Flash Update #10 - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 19 March 2026

HIGHLIGHTS

• Over one thousand people have been killed and 2,584 injured. A humanitarian worker with children, a journalist and his spouse are killed, another journalist and a cameraman injured. 31 healthcare workers killed since 2 March.
• UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Ted Chaiban: “Recent escalation has killed or wounded the equivalent of “one classroom of children every day.”
• Ongoing displacement orders are driving repeated population movements, with over 1.2 million people displaced, including 134,439 IDPs in 636 collective shelters—mainly in Beirut and Mount Lebanon—amid growing shelter shortages and protection risks.

Situation Overview

Since the beginning of March 2026, the escalation of hostilities across Lebanon has driven a rapid and severe deterioration in the humanitarian situation. Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and expanded ground operations continue to intensify in scale, frequency, and geographic scope, affecting areas that had previously remained less exposed. Civilians and critical civilian infrastructure are consistently bearing the brunt of the violence, with widespread destruction of residential buildings, healthcare facilities, roads, water networks, and public services. Over 1,000 people have been killed and 2,584 injured, with children disproportionately affected. During his visit to Lebanon, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Ted Chaiban highlighted that the recent escalation has killed or wounded the equivalent of “one classroom of children every day,” underscoring the acute protection risks faced by the most vulnerable.

Attacks on healthcare and humanitarian personnel continue to rise. At least 31 healthcare workers have been killed to date, and dozens more injured, alongside repeated strikes on hospitals, PHCCs, ambulances, and medical transport. Five hospitals and 49 PHCCs are now out of operation, severely limiting access to lifesaving care as masscasualty incidents occur across multiple governorates. Humanitarian personnel have also been affected; a recent strike in Baalbek killed a local NGO humanitarian worker and two children. These attacks raise grave concerns over the respect of international humanitarian law, which explicitly protects medical personnel, facilities, and humanitarian personnel.

Hostilities are also escalating on the ground. Increased military activity south of the Litani River, with exchanges of fire along the Blue Line, signal rising protection threats for communities in high‑risk areas. On 18 March, a building in Bashoura was targeted for the second time following a displacement order issued in the early hours, forcing residents to evacuate with minimal time and no clear shelter alternatives. Additional strikes in Zkak el Blat and Basta resulted in further casualties, including the killing of a journalist and his spouse. This marks the first reported killing of a journalists in Lebanon since 2 March escalation, raising serious concerns regarding the protection of civilians and media personnel. An additional airstrike, on 18 March, on Qasmieh bridge in the South injured a journalist and cameraman.

Displacement dynamics remain highly fluid and complex. Repeated and expanded displacement orders – now covering significant portions of southern Lebanon, parts of Beirut, border villages, and the Bekaa – are triggering multiple, secondary, and tertiary displacement. Displacement orders in areas such as Beirut’s southern suburbs, localized orders for buildings or neighborhoods, alongside broader displacement orders affecting villages such as Kherbet Selem, Beit Yahoun, and Deir Qanoun, continue to force people to flee**.** On 17 March large-scale displacement orders in Tyre district including Palestinian camps triggered significant population movements both within and beyond the district, including to already strained host communities.

As of 19 March, 134,439 people are sheltering in 636 collective shelters, with women and girls representing more than half of the displaced. Overall displacement exceeds 1.2 million people when including those outside formal sites. Collective shelters are overstretched, with many reporting overcrowding, limited electricity, lack of heating, insufficient WASH facilities, and inadequate privacy – conditions that heighten protection risks, particularly for women, girls, older people, persons with disabilities, and those requiring specialized support.

Schools continue to be heavily affected. A total of 472 schools – public, private, and TVET – are being used as collective shelters, restricting access to education for thousands of students. Some children have returned to the same schools where they previously sheltered during the 2024 escalation, compounding the longterm disruption caused by Lebanon’s economic collapse, the Beirut Port explosion, and the COVID19 pandemic.

Damage to critical infrastructure continues to impede humanitarian access. Airstrikes have destroyed or damaged roads, crossings, and bridges, including Qasmieh bridge; water pipelines between Marjaayoun, Blat, Dibbin, and surrounding areas; and at least five fuel stations in the South. These disruptions further constrain the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance.

Humanitarian actors reiterate the respect to the International Humanitarian Law. Civilians, including journalists, must be protected at all times. Medical personnel, health facilities, ambulances, patients and civilians are explicitly protected under international law and must not be targeted. The protection of civilians and unimpeded humanitarian access remain imperative to prevent further loss of life and alleviate human suffering.