More than one million people in Lebanon face acute food shortages, UN says

Nearly a quarter of Lebanon’s population, or more than one million people, is facing acute food shortages due to two consecutive conflicts in less than two years and a dire economic situation, according to the United Nations.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme (WFP) and Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture warned in a joint statement published on Wednesday that the number is expected to rise to 1.15 million by the middle of next year.

“Employment opportunities remain limited, savings have been depleted, and debt remains high, while the cost of food, fuel and other essentials continues to strain household budgets,” the joint statement said.

“Some households can still draw on savings, borrow, cut expenses or find other ways to put food on the table. For others, those options are being exhausted. When families have nothing left to fall back on, even a small additional shock can push them deeper into crisis,” Allison Oman Lawi, WFP representative and country director in Lebanon, said.

Lebanon’s Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said: “These findings call for a coordinated national response that addresses urgent food needs while protecting livelihoods and restoring productive capacity.”

Lebanon’s authorities estimate that the cost of two wars between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since October 2023 amounts to about $27bn.

The last war, launched in March, displaced more than one million people in Lebanon. That number has fallen to about 300,000 since violence subsided in June.

Despite a United States-brokered framework deal signed between Israel and Lebanon’s government in June to bring fighting to an end, Israel is still occupying land in Lebanon.

Under the terms, Israeli forces were to withdraw, and Lebanon’s army was to take up positions in vacated territory.

Lebanon was meant to disarm Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement.

The fighting broke out as Lebanon struggled to recover from its worst-ever economic crisis, which began in 2019.

Beirut has been seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund but has yet to implement reforms demanded by the institution to release the aid.