Hostilities drive up casualties, displacement in Lebanon despite ceasefire: UN

This photo taken by a cellphone on May 18, 2026 shows the destruction left by an Israeli airstrike in Baalbek, Lebanon. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Hostilities are driving up casualties, forcing people to flee and deepening humanitarian needs in Lebanon despite the ceasefire with Israel, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that airstrikes were reported in southern Lebanon and other parts of the country.

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health reported on Monday that 824 people have been killed and more than 2,000 others injured in Lebanon since a ceasefire was first announced on April 16. A 45-day ceasefire extension was announced on Saturday.

Since the escalation on March 2 following the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, at least 3,020 people have been killed and more than 9,200 others injured. Some 95,000 people have fled as a result of the repeated Israeli displacement orders issued since the weekend, OCHA said.

The office said there were several attacks on health care facilities.

On Monday, a double strike in the city of Maarakeh in south governorate reportedly killed one paramedic. On Saturday, strikes hit a health response point in the city of Qana, as well as areas near a hospital in Nabatieh governorate.

The World Health Organization said that since March 2,169 attacks on health care resulted in 116 deaths and 263 injuries, including 23 attacks and 18 deaths since the ceasefire was first announced, further undermining access to life-saving services.

Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Tuesday that the UN peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, reported 206 firing incidents originating from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions and seven presumed to be from Hezbollah as of Tuesday. They also detected five airstrikes in the UNIFIL area of operations.

The spokesman said that on Monday peacekeepers reported multiple airstrikes in the vicinity of Al Mansouri, Frun, Bayt Yahun and Qabrikha. Additionally, two airstrikes were reported north of the Litani River in the vicinity of Zawtar al Gharbiya.

Dujarric said there were similar firings on Monday.

"We continue to urge all actors to fully respect the cessation of hostilities, cease any further attacks and comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law," he said. "This should be done at all times and without exception."

The spokesman also said that UNIFIL reported seeing IDF personnel remove three security cameras installed at UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura, in the operation area known as Sector West.

"These cameras show the immediate vicinity of UNIFIL Headquarters and are critical to help ensure the safety and security of both our premises and our military and civilian peacekeepers who are living inside the compound," Dujarric told a regular press briefing. "We remind the IDF of their obligation to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and to respect the inviolability of UN premises."

He said the peacekeepers facilitate the delivery of food, water, hygiene kits, medicines and medical supplies to hundreds of families in southern Lebanon. On Monday, a UNIFIL-OCHA coordination unit assisted several humanitarian organizations in providing aid to affected populations in Tyre and villages in the eastern sector of UNIFIL's operational area.

However, OCHA said that the humanitarian response is significantly underfunded. The Lebanon flash appeal has received a little more than half of what is needed, or 158 million U.S. dollars.

In light of continued hostilities and rising needs, the UN humanitarian country team, in consultation with the Lebanese government, is working to extend the flash appeal, which had initially been set to run for three months, so aid can continue to be delivered to those who need it, said OCHA.