| The recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, careening toward a wider regional war, has led to severe humanitarian consequences in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and parts of Israel. The broader conflict has resulted in mass displacement and significant civilian casualties in several theatres, insufficient shelter, supply shortages, and widespread food insecurity, compounded at times by constraints on humanitarian access, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Evacuation orders recently issued by Israel for northern Gaza have resulted in the displacement of at least 70,000 people, risking further constraints on humanitarian access to the area. This humanitarian crisis further exacerbates the already struggling region facing severe humanitarian challenges resulting from conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, with another humanitarian crisis occurring in Africa as a result of the war in Sudan. These compounded issues are putting immense pressure on international aid organizations and threaten to create long-lasting instability across the region for future generations.
Since October 7, 2023, at least 42,010 people have been killed and at least 97,590 injured in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry. Severe food insecurity has permeated the Strip, with rampant hunger and the looming threat of famine – a catastrophe some UN experts have warned is already present. Three-quarters of Gazans rely on food assistance for survival, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). However, efforts to address this issue have faced increasing challenges. This month, aid deliveries to Gaza have reached their lowest levels in months. Israeli authorities have implemented a new customs regulation on certain types of humanitarian aid and are also reducing shipments arranged by businesses, according to a report from Reuters.
The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that it was “incredibly concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, particularly in northern Gaza.” WFP warns that if aid does not resume shortly, up to one million people could be deprived of necessary assistance. Although sufficient aid is available and ready for distribution, the closure of crossing points, security concerns, and disruptions at these routes hinder its delivery. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that they “have been making clear to the government of Israel that they have an obligation under international humanitarian law to allow food and water and other needed humanitarian assistance to make it into all parts of Gaza, and we fully expect them to comply with those obligations.”
Beyond Gaza, the humanitarian situation in the West Bank has become increasingly unstable. A combination of large-scale Israeli military operations, movement restrictions, and a rise in settler violence is exacerbating hunger in the region. Over 160,000 people have lost their permits to work in Israel, leaving many families without a source of income. WFP estimates that the growing violence, along with the conflict in Gaza, could push at least 600,000 individuals in the West Bank into food insecurity, a significant increase from 352,000 at the beginning of 2023. Israeli operations in the West Bank have also caused significant damage to infrastructure, leaving 92,000 people without reliable access to clean water, wastewater services, and proper waste disposal. This damage raises concerns about potential flooding and severe public health risks as winter approaches, according to the WASH Cluster, a Geneva-based non-profit focused on humanitarian conditions surrounding water.
Israel claims its recent operation, the largest since the war began, is intended to prevent attacks on its citizens. A terrorist attack claimed by Hamas in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, left seven dead in early October. The militants involved in that attack came from the West Bank city of Hebron. Most fatalities in the West Bank are militants killed in Israeli raids, but civilians, protesters, and victims of settler violence are also among the dead. According to ReliefWeb, 18 Palestinians were killed in a deadly airstrike on a residential building in the Tulkarm refugee camp – the single deadliest event in the West Bank since the UN began tracking casualties in the region in 2005. The casualties included a family of four, two of whom were children, as well as another child and three women. In the same strike, four refugee households comprising a total of nine children were displaced.
In Lebanon, an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced and hundreds killed due to airstrikes, with housing shortages leaving many living on the streets of Beirut, areas of which have also been targeted. In recent weeks, the Israeli Defense Forces have sent ground troops into the area in addition to continuing its bombing campaign on Hezbollah leaders. On top of the displaced Lebanese, aid for the 800,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been severely strained. However, approximately 250,000 Lebanese and Syrians have left Lebanon for Syria, displaying the desperateness of those affected. In Israel, close to 90,000 people have been internally displaced as of June 2024, according to UN Watch, with the current number likely much higher due to the heightened fighting with Hezbollah on the northern border.
Beyond displacement, an estimated 2,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in the past year, according to the Lebanese health ministry, though it did not differentiate between combatants and civilians. Aid agencies have been scrambling to provide necessary assistance to those still in Lebanon. According to a report in Foreign Policy, aid workers said the current priority “is meeting civilians’ most essential needs by supplying drinking water, hygiene supplies, food, mattresses, blankets, sanitation items, basic medication, and cash assistance.” The United Nations announced in early October its $426 million appeal for Lebanon, with the United States announcing $157 in humanitarian assistance a few days later, including those fleeing into Syria. Additionally, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Canada, France, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates have pledged aid to Lebanon. Although, as many of the UN flash appeals for humanitarian aid are often chronically underfunded – the 2024 flash appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory is only 51 percent funded – likely, many of those in need of humanitarian assistance may not receive it, and funding shortages may continue. |