UN Secretary-General António Guterres has once again called for an immediate end to the war in the Middle East, warning that the escalating conflict is having devastating humanitarian consequences far beyond the immediate battlefield. In a statement issued through the UN Spokesperson’s Office, he stressed that all relevant UN Security Council resolutions aimed at ending the region’s conflicts must be fully implemented, including Resolution 2817, which demanded an end to Iran’s attacks on neighbouring states.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the conflict is now severely disrupting global humanitarian operations, creating what it described as the most serious strain on aid supply chains since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war in 2022. WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said the escalating violence, triggered by Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran followed by retaliatory attacks by Tehran and allied groups, has already led to longer shipping times and rising operational costs, threatening the agency’s ability to deliver life-saving assistance worldwide.
According to WFP, shipping costs have already increased by 18 percent as the conflict enters its third week, while thousands of aid trucks are now operating on much more expensive fuel due to rising oil prices. These higher costs are directly reducing the agency’s ability to purchase food and provide cash support to vulnerable populations. As a result, WFP said it has already been forced to cut food rations for people facing famine conditions in Sudan and can currently support only one in four acutely malnourished children in Afghanistan, which it described as the world’s worst malnutrition crisis.
The agency also expressed alarm over disruptions to global fertilizer markets at a critical time, as sub-Saharan Africa approaches a major planting season. WFP noted that around a quarter of the world’s fertilizer supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which it said is now effectively at a standstill. This disruption, combined with surging food and fuel prices, risks pricing millions of families out of staple foods, especially in import-dependent regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia.
WFP warned that if the conflict continues through June, an additional 45 million people could be pushed into acute hunger due to rising prices alone. Such an outcome would drive global hunger to record levels, worsening an already dire international food security crisis and placing immense pressure on humanitarian agencies already struggling with funding and access constraints.
In Lebanon, one of the conflict’s epicentres, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza said the disruption of air traffic has cut off a major source of humanitarian assistance from Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. During the previous Israel-Lebanon conflict in 2024, Lebanon had received significant support through an “air bridge” from these states, but that route is no longer functioning under current conditions.
At the same time, Israeli airstrikes and expanding displacement orders have sharply increased humanitarian needs across Lebanon. Mr. Riza reported that 132,700 people are currently staying in around 622 shelters, but the true number of those forced to flee is likely over one million. With Lebanon’s total population of citizens and refugees estimated at about 5.5 million, this suggests that nearly 20 percent of the people living in the country may already be displaced, with numbers expected to rise further.
The evacuation orders now extend across southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of the Bekaa Valley. Humanitarian agencies face serious challenges because about 70 percent of displaced people are not in formal shelters, making them harder to locate and assist. Access has also become increasingly difficult for civilians who remain in villages despite the fighting, particularly elderly residents and others who are physically unable or too fearful to leave. Many are staying behind because they do not want to risk losing their homes and communities, leaving them especially vulnerable.
The UN human rights office has also raised grave concerns over the legality and impact of the expanding displacement orders. OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan warned that Israel’s extension of evacuation warnings across southern Lebanon, including the area between the Litani and Zahrani rivers, may amount to forced displacement, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law. He also said that Israeli airstrikes have repeatedly destroyed entire residential buildings in densely populated urban areas, often killing multiple members of the same family, including women and children.
Further concerns were raised over reports that displaced people living in tents along Beirut’s seafront have also been struck by airstrikes, while at least 16 medical workers have reportedly been killed in recent days. The UN human rights office strongly criticized statements by Israeli officials threatening to inflict on Lebanon the same scale of destruction seen in Gaza, warning that such rhetoric, combined with plans to deploy additional forces and expand ground operations, is intensifying fear and anxiety among the Lebanese population.
