Thousands of people fled the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, on Monday after Israeli announced it will carry out renewed strikes targeting Hezbollah militants sheltered there.

“Families are leaving by car, motorcycle, and on foot, carrying essentials,” the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, tweeted. Many others are returning to shelters and “fear and uncertainty are mounting.”

High stakes, heavy cost

The development comes as the UN Security Council in New York prepares to meet on Monday afternoon to discuss the escalating conflict.

In a separate tweet, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert noted that southern Lebanon was “in flames” while Beirut's roads were “choked with people fleeing their homes.”

The senior official said that suffering was compounding “as both sides hold out for victory.”

She added, however, that “escalation has its own logic” and “attempting to contain or manage it is a high-stakes gamble, with costs borne by people who have already lost too much.”

The crisis in Lebanon is part of unrest across the wider region. It erupted on 2 March, just days after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to fire on Israel.

A US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel took effect on 17 April but was never fully observed by either side. It was nominally extended twice, most recently on 16 May for a 45-day period.

‘Deepening humanitarian emergency’

However, “nearly three months into the conflict, Lebanon faces a deepening humanitarian emergency with a critical combination of displacement and increased food insecurity,” the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday.

More than a million civilians have been uprooted, and food security experts report that 1.24 million people nationwide – nearly a quarter of the population – are not getting enough to eat.

WFP stressed the critical need for sustained humanitarian access, stable supply flows and predictable funding.

“The ongoing conflict characterised by daily bombardments and displacement orders is challenging humanitarian access and resulting in continued displacement,” the agency said, noting that “these conditions are hampering the delivery of critical assistance, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.”

Rising food costs

While food remains available in many areas in Lebanon, costs have risen alongside the escalating fighting. For example, vegetable prices are now 20 per cent higher, while bread costs roughly 15 per cent more.

Furthermore, although markets in Beirut and other areas “remain operational but under growing strain”, most markets in southern Lebanon and Nabatieh – more than 80 per cent – are no longer functioning.

Recently, a shipment of 250 metric tonnes of wheat flour entered Lebanon through Jordan, which is now supporting roughly 10,000 vulnerable households.

Hot meals, food parcels and emergency cash

WFP has ramped up its response efforts, reaching more than 700,000 people to date with hot meals, ready-to-eat rations, and food parcels for families sheltering in displacement sites.

Teams have distributed nearly five million hot meals, in addition to supporting more than 215,000 displaced people across over 500 shelters nationwide, alongside approximately 85,500 people in host communities and hard-to-reach areas.

The UN agency has also provided emergency cash support for close to half a million Lebanese through national systems, and cash support for more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

Since the conflict began, 24 humanitarian convoys have been deployed to communities in Lebanon facing access restraints, but more than half of those requested have been delayed or cancelled due to movement and access risks.

WFP is seeking $112 million to sustain lifesaving assistance and respond to rising needs in Lebanon from now through August.