UNHCR, together with the European Union and the Governments of Ireland and Italy, facilitated a humanitarian airbridge flight delivering urgently needed relief supplies to support families forcibly displaced across Lebanon. This marks the fifth EU-funded flight providing essential aid, including blankets, kitchen sets, and jerry cans, which will be distributed through shelters and response centres to help those affected by the conflict. European Union Ambassador Sandra De Waele emphasized the EU’s commitment to rapid, life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable populations.
Since 2 March 2026, intensified hostilities in southern Lebanon, parts of the Bekaa Valley, and southern Beirut have forced over one million people to flee their homes. Airstrikes, shelling, evacuations, and ground operations have caused extensive destruction to residential areas, healthcare facilities, infrastructure, and public services. Many displaced families, including Syrian refugees who constitute around 20% of Lebanon’s population, are facing urgent needs for safety, shelter, and basic services as the crisis worsens.
Ireland’s Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond, highlighted the importance of the relief items, particularly thermal blankets for families in cold, mountainous areas, noting the repeated displacement and loss of stability experienced by refugees. Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Marcelli emphasized Italy’s ongoing support, noting that previous and current airlifts have delivered around 40 tons of relief items and that Italy has allocated €10 million to the Lebanon Flash Appeal to scale up assistance in coordination with UNHCR and national authorities.
The relief supplies will reach displaced families in government-designated collective shelters and host communities, coordinated with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Disaster Risk Management Unit to align with Lebanon’s national response mechanism. UNHCR Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing noted that over 36,900 essential items will help families meet basic needs during this critical period and prepare for further displacement.
The Lebanon Flash Appeal seeks US $308.3 million to provide life-saving aid and protection to up to one million people, with UNHCR requesting US $61 million under the Emergency Appeal to assist 600,000 affected individuals over an initial three-month period.
