Smoke rises from southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes near Nabatieh [FILE: June 5, 2026]Image: REUTERS<\/p>\n
The United Nations has more than doubled the amount of funding it says is needed to help Lebanon<\/a> tackle a humanitarian crisis as the war between Israel and Hezbollah<\/a> enters its\u00a0fourth month.<\/p>\n In a fresh appeal on Friday, the UN said it was seeking an additional $331.5 million (\u20ac285 million) \u200bto reach\u00a01.4 million people in need of aid.<\/p>\n The UN had appealed for $308 million in March to support a massive emergency response led by Lebanon’s government through to the end of May.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of May 31, it said it had received only\u00a0$185.9 million, which was used to provided assistance to 680,000 people.<\/p>\n It said it would more than double the initial appeal amount, bringing the total to\u00a0$639.9 million, in order to reach\u00a0all of the estimated 1.4 million people in Lebanon who need aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is severe and deteriorating,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.<\/p>\n “Repeated displacements, insufficient shelter capacity and limited prospects for safe return are deepening vulnerability,” it added, warning that “affected people are rapidly exhausting their coping capacities, and essential services are under increasing strain.”<\/p>\n