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, escalating hostilities in southern Lebanon, parts of the Bekaa Valley, and southern Beirut have forced over one million people to flee their homes. Airstrikes, shelling, repeated evacuation warnings, and ground operations have caused widespread destruction to residential buildings, healthcare facilities, infrastructure, and public services. Many displaced families, including Syrian refugees who make up 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 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 underlined Italy’s ongoing support, reporting that airbridge flights 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 Lebanese authorities.
The 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. 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 requests US $308.3 million to provide life-saving assistance and protection to up to one million people, with UNHCR seeking US $61 million under the Emergency Appeal to assist 600,000 affected individuals over an initial three-month period.
