More than 2,700 people have been killed in clashes between Lebanon-based Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces since March 2, according to Lebanese officials.
Hezbollah – a fully independent militia – began firing rockets into northern Israel on February 28 after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran began.
Of the more than 380 people killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect on April 17, 25 are women, highlighting the dangers they face “when they attempt to return to their homes under the perceived safety of the ceasefire,” it said. un womenMoise Dorad, un women Regional Director for the Arab States.
“Continued Israeli airstrikes, evacuation orders, bans on returning to some areas, and movement restrictions mean that most people still cannot return to their homes.“It is estimated that more than half a million women and girls are displaced,” he told reporters.
‘Bring back hope’
Speaking from Beirut via video link, Mr Douraud urged the international community to “stand with these women and girls, men and boys to bring back hope”.
Unlike previous wars and conflicts that the Lebanese people have endured over the past decades, “this current conflict has destroyed hope among many people, as homes and lands in southern Lebanon have been destroyed”, the UN official stressed.
She described how one woman was forced to “forage for wild herbs to feed her family” amid increasing food insecurity.
This disturbing testimony is consistent with Respected Food Insecurity Expert Assessment Advocacy estimates that an additional 144,000 women and girls will face crisis-level hunger or worse in the coming months, bringing the total to nearly 639,000.
Basic services destroyed
Access to food, water, health care, education and basic services is dangerously disrupted in Lebanon today. Nearly 1.2 million people have been displaced and entire communities uprooted as Israeli evacuation orders cover more of the country than ever before.
With peace still not in place despite a ceasefire being implemented, thousands of people are returning to challenging conditions, with widespread damage to homes, and risks from unexploded ordnance.
So far during this conflict, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP)wfp) has negotiated the movement of 19 convoys into South Lebanon with the support of 84,500 individuals. “But they are a fraction of the accepted ones,” said wfpMatthew Hollingsworth, Assistant Executive Director for Program Operations.
“Typically, we are talking about only less than 50 percent (of convoy requests to Israel) being approved.. So, we would like to take many more such inter-agency, multi-agency and NGO convoys to inaccessible areas…we still need to do a lot more,” he said.
Since March 2, UN Women has directly supported more than 15,000 women and girls, reaching more than 70,000 people in their communities.
“I have also seen such difficult situations The incredible resilience of women and women’s organizations in response Who are providing humanitarian assistance, supporting livelihoods and enhancing social cohesion across Lebanon,” said UN Women Mr. Douraid.
“The agency is supporting more than 500 women leaders to help communities respond to the crisis, connect people to assistance, identify urgent needs, reduce stress, and ensure that women’s voices are heard in local response and recovery efforts,” she said.
