Lebanon emergency
Dawla and her sick mother are among the half a million people forced from their homes by the escalating hostilities in the Middle East. They fled to Adra Saida as renewed fighting in Lebanon affects a country already devastated by multiple recent conflicts.
Last updated: 9th April 2026
The country hosts approximately 1.3 million Syrian refugees alongside several thousand refugees of other nationalities.
Protection
including legal aid, psychosocial support and child protection.
Cash assistance
so people can buy food, warm blankets and medicines.
Shelter
to protect families in makeshift informal settlements.
What is the situation in Lebanon?
Lebanon hosts more refugees per capita than any other country in the world. The majority have fled from Syria, but since the beginning of the war in Gaza in 2023, ongoing clashes across Lebanon’s southern border have displaced thousands of people.
In late 2024, sustained Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon displaced up to 1 million people, including many refugees who were displaced once again. After the ceasefire, many returned to damaged homes and disrupted services.
Since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024, many Syrian refugees in Lebanon have returned home. UNHCR is supporting the voluntary return of Syrians in Lebanon, lifesaving assistance on the border, and supporting refugees living in Lebanon.
UNHCR has operated in Lebanon for many years and is committed to staying and delivering for as long as needed. Teams continue to work across Lebanon, alongside partner organisations, to coordinate the humanitarian response and meet the needs of refugees and conflict-affected people across the country.
What's happening in Lebanon now?
UNHCR has operated in Lebanon for many years and is committed to staying and delivering for as long as needed. Teams continue to work across Lebanon, alongside partner organisations, to coordinate the humanitarian response and meet the needs of refugees and conflict-affected people across the country.
Though many refugees from Syria are choosing to return home, the security situation remains unpredictable in some areas, leading to some sporadic returns, and their basic services are limited.
What is Lebanon’s role as a refugee hosting country?
At the end of July 2025, there were an estimated 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, alongside several thousand refugees of other nationalities, including Iraqi, Sudanese and Ethiopian.
How is Lebanon impacted by the recent conflict in the Middle East?
In March 2026, amid intensifying conflict across the Middle East and following Israeli evacuation orders, over 1 million people are displaced, with more than 138,500 individuals currently sheltering across 678 collective sites, with figures expected to climb further. Shelters are quickly reaching capacity.
Within the first two days of the escalation, UNHCR teams mobilised 5,000 emergency supplies for shelters hosting displaced families in Beirut.
What support does UNHCR deliver?
As of March 8th 2026, following the recent conflict, UNHCR has provided support to almost 62,000 people, delivering over 163,800 essential items such as blankets, mattresses, solar lamps and other essential items.
Across Lebanon, UNHCR teams are on the ground, working tirelessly to reach people in need through:
- Supporting community groups and outreach volunteers, who shape programmes at a grassroots level.
- Delivering cash and in-kind assistance, so that families have enough to eat and the essentials they need to survive.
- Providing emergency shelter kits, repairing damaged buildings and improving living conditions in informal settlements.
- Subsidising hospital care and providing better access to vital medicines.
- Teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills to refugee children and helping older students to access higher education opportunities.
- Protecting and providing legal aid to the most vulnerable refugees, including women, children and survivors of gender-based violence.
- Facilitating activities that promote peacebuilding and social stability.
However, with only 25 per cent of financial requirements funded, UNHCR has been forced to scale down or discontinue programmes, leaving access to life saving care and basic survival support at critical risk.
Where can I find out more about UNHCR’s work in Lebanon?
For the latest updates on this and other crises that UK for UNHCR supports, follow our social media channels and sign up to our email updates.
For the latest UNHCR data relating to Syrian refugees and Lebanon, please visit the UNHCR Operational Data site here.
For the latest updates on UNHCR’s relief work for Syrian refugees, please visit the Syria Situation Portal here.