UNHCR scales up support as people flee Lebanon for Syria

GENEVA – Thousands of Lebanese and Syrian people are fleeing Lebanon for Syria in desperation as Israeli airstrikes continue to devastate civilian lives. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is scaling up its support to the growing number of displaced people.

Hundreds of vehicles are backed up in queues at the Syrian border. Many people are also arriving on foot, carrying what they can. Large crowds, including women, young children and babies are waiting in line after spending the night outdoors in falling temperatures. Some carry fresh injuries from the recent bombardments.

“This bloodshed is extracting a terrible toll, driving tens of thousands from their homes,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “It is yet another ordeal for families who previously fled war in Syria only now to be bombed in the country where they sought shelter. We must avoid replaying these scenes of despair and devastation. The Middle East cannot afford a new displacement crisis. Let us not create one by forcing more people to abandon their homes. Protecting civilian lives must be the priority.”

UNHCR and partners, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, are present at the border crossings, providing food, water, blankets and mattresses to those arriving, and guiding them towards support available once in Syria. The humanitarian situation in Syria remains dire; the 2023 earthquake and the drawn-out conflict there have left critical infrastructure in tatters and millions in need of assistance.

According to the Lebanese authorities, over 27,000 people have been displaced over the past 48 hours, and more are abandoning their homes by the minute. The latest hostilities have killed 558 people and injured 1,835.

UNHCR is responding to the needs of forcibly displaced people across Lebanon, coordinating closely with the authorities and other humanitarian organizations. Our teams are on standby to help more civilians who have fled the airstrikes, providing shelter, health care and psychosocial support.

Lebanon hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees and over 11,000 refugees from other countries.

For more information on this topic, please contact

• In Beirut: Lisa Abou Khaled: [email protected], +961 71 880 070
• In Amman: Rula Amin, [email protected], +962 (0) 790 045 849
• In Geneva, Matthew Saltmarsh, [email protected], +41 79 967 99 36