Emergency Response
Lebanon crisis: What is happening and how to help
Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes as violence escalates across Lebanon
Lebanon is in the grip of the rapidly escalating war in the Middle East. In the wake of military escalations across much of the Middle East, hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel escalated dramatically on March 1st.
Civilians will bear the brunt of this escalation. More than one million people, including over 300,000 children, have already been displaced, and the situation on the ground is evolving each day.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been delivering critical humanitarian services in Lebanon since 2012, and is responding to the latest escalation in violence.
Here’s what you need to know about Lebanon—and how you can help.
What is happening in Lebanon?
Airstrikes have targeted southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and the Beirut-Mount Lebanon region. Evacuation orders have been issued for over 100 villages, prompting more than one million people to flee with little warning. As of March 18th, more than 900 people have been killed and over 2,200 have been injured by airstrikes, according to the Lebanese authorities.
This latest outbreak of violence marks the most serious deterioration in security conditions since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, and it is pushing an overwhelmed humanitarian system to the breaking point.
Hundreds of schools and public buildings have been converted into emergency shelters, while families are sleeping in cars along roadsides or crowding into small apartments with relatives. Among those newly displaced are Syrian and Palestinian refugees who had already fled conflict once and rebuilt fragile lives in Lebanon, only to now be forced to flee again.
Communities across Lebanon are gripped by fear as the violence spreads. The IRC urges an immediate cessation of hostilities and calls on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Families have fled their homes and are sleeping outside or in their cars, with official shelters at full capacity. A displaced mother told the IRC, “I am struggling to find milk for my newborn. I am doing everything possible to keep her warm and protected”.
Photo: Dalia Al Mokdad for the IRC
Violence deepens an existing crisis in Lebanon
Lebanese families have endured a multi-year, compounded crisis that landed the country on the IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist—an analysis of the countries most likely to experience a deteriorating humanitarian crisis. An economic collapse, destruction of public infrastructure and the fallout from violence between Israel and Hezbollah have left Lebanon extremely vulnerable, especially as the country hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world while international support wanes.
Economic collapse
Lebanon is facing one of the worst economic collapses in modern history. The Lebanese lira lost over 98% of its value between 2023 and early 2024, triggering hyperinflation and wiping out the savings of ordinary families.
Today, approximately 80% of the population lives in poverty, lacking reliable access to healthcare, electricity and education. According to IRC protection monitoring conducted in December 2025, 81% of households facing eviction threats had already taken on debt just to cover basic costs—before this latest escalation.
Public infrastructure and services can’t meet needs
Prior to the latest escalation of war in the Middle East, an estimated 4.1 million people in Lebanon urgently needed humanitarian support. Israeli operations in late 2024 damaged 67 hospitals and forced over 150 health facilities to close, cutting off access to healthcare and critical support services for thousands.
Families flee their homes with little more than they can carry, following Israeli strikes on Lebanon in 2024.
Photo: Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty Images
Lebanon’s refugee community faces displacement—again
Lebanon hosts approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees, the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Most live in extreme poverty and legal insecurity. These refugees, who have already fled conflict and rebuilt their lives in Lebanon, are among the newly displaced in this latest escalation.
As of March 19th, approximatelyalmost 140,000 people crossed from Lebanon into Syria following the latest escalation of violence.
Funding shortfalls persist, despite immense need
Even before this escalation in violence, Lebanon’s humanitarian response was catastrophically underfunded. Last year’s Humanitarian Response Plan received only a third of the funding it required.
More than 4.1 million people—over 70% of Lebanon’s population—were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the March 2026 attacks on the country.
Humanitarian organizations urgently need flexible funding to scale up emergency response efforts, expand health and protection services, and provide cash assistance and basic relief items to families who fled with little or nothing.
How is the IRC responding in Lebanon?
The International Rescue Committee has been working in Lebanon since 2012 and reached more than 180,000 people across the country in 2025 with health, education, protection and livelihood services.
Despite the volatile security situation, the IRC and its partners are mobilizing to respond to the urgent needs of displaced families and continuing our critical work. We focus on ensuring people can access essential health services, mental health support, and protection services—with particular attention to children, women and survivors of violence.
Over the next three months, we aim to reach:
- 30,000 people with health programming. With nearly half of primary health centers closed, the IRC is deploying mobile clinics and distributing medicines to fill critical gaps in Lebanon's already fragile health system.
- 24,000 people with essential items. Families who have fled with little more than they could carry are receiving blankets, hygiene kits, and education supplies to help meet their most immediate needs.
- 13,000 people protection services and psychosocial support. Displaced people face heightened risks of gender-based violence and family separation—the IRC is providing emergency case management and psychosocial support, with a particular focus on the more than 200,000 children who have recently been displaced.
Fatima receives a vaccine at an IRC-supported health clinic in Lebanon in September 2025.
Photo: Iuna Vieira for the IRC
Our work across the Middle East
The IRC is closely monitoring the situation across the Middle East to understand the trajectory of displacement and humanitarian needs. Elsewhere across the region, including Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territory, our teams continue to deliver critical assistance while prioritizing the safety of staff and the communities we serve.
Why support the IRC
The International Rescue Committee has over 90 years of experience helping people affected by crisis in more than 40 countries to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We also help refugees and displaced people resettle and integrate into new communities across Europe, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
