The World Food Program (WFP) has launched an emergency operation to provide food aid to one million people affected by the recent escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, the UN agency announced on Sunday.
The Rome-based WFP is “distributing food rations, bread, hot meals and parcels to families in camps across the country.”
“A further escalation of the conflict over the weekend has underlined the need for an immediate humanitarian response,” the agency explained in a statement.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it was carrying out “dozens” of new raids against Hezbollah in Lebanon, two days after killing the powerful leader of the pro-Iranian movement Hassan Nasrallah in a bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“In just a few days, WFP aid has reached thousands of newly displaced people,” said Matthew Hollingworth, WFP director for Lebanon, quoted in the statement.
“As the crisis deepens, we are preparing to help up to a million people with a mix of cash and food aid,” he added, calling on the international community to contribute $105 million to enable the WFP to fund these operations until the end of the year.
“Lebanon is at breaking point and cannot support another war,” said Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director for the Near East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, quoted by the World Food Program.
With AFP
