.png)
Over 1.2m in Lebanon expected to face acute hunger: UN-backed report
- Aljazeera Staff and AFP | Aljazeera
- May 1
- 2 min read
FAO, WFP and Lebanon’s government say 1.24 million people are ‘expected to face food insecurity’ at crisis levels or worse.
![Displaced people who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sit outside shelter tents in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 24, 2026 [Bilal Hussein/AP Photo]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/486341_59edd16cfea84df6b230cf99e0b13540~mv2.webp/v1/fill/w_770,h_513,al_c,q_85,enc_avif,quality_auto/486341_59edd16cfea84df6b230cf99e0b13540~mv2.webp)
More than 1.2 million people in Lebanon are expected to face acute hunger this year due to “conflict, displacement and economic pressures” amid the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a United Nations-backed report.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture issued a joint statement on Wednesday, saying that 1.24 million people were “expected to face food insecurity” at crisis levels or worse between April and August.
The figure, contained in a report conducted by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed group that monitors hunger and malnutrition, marks a “significant deterioration” compared with the outlook before the war erupted on March 2, said the statement.
Prior to March, “an estimated 874,000 people, roughly 17 percent of the population, were experiencing acute food insecurity“, it said. But a “sharp escalation in violence” had “reversed recent food security gains in Lebanon and pushed the country back into crisis”.
“Families who were just managing to cope are now being pushed back into crisis as conflict, displacement and rising costs collide, making food increasingly unaffordable,” said Allison Oman Lawi, the WFP’s country director in Lebanon.
Nora Ourabah Haddad, the FAO representative in Lebanon, said, “Compounded shocks are undermining agricultural livelihoods and impacting food security, highlighting the urgent need for emergency agricultural assistance to support farmers and prevent further deterioration.”
A ceasefire that took effect on April 17 has reduced the intensity of the fighting between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,500 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israeli forces are operating in south Lebanon near the border, where residents have been warned not to return, and both sides have been trading fire despite the truce.
“Acute food insecurity is likely to deepen without sustained and timely humanitarian and livelihood support,” the statement said.
(c) Aljazeera 2026 | All Rights Reserved
En discutant avec des amis de bonnes adresses à Marrakech, le sujet des brunchs est revenu naturellement, et quelqu’un m’a parlé de Lilly Billy Marrakech. Je ne connaissais pas du tout l’endroit, donc j’ai été curieux de voir de quoi il s’agissait. Ce qui m’a marqué en regardant rapidement, c’est l’impression d’un lieu qui mise autant sur le cadre que sur l’expérience globale. J’ai déjà testé des brunchs où la qualité était correcte mais l’ambiance un peu trop froide ou impersonnelle, ce qui change complètement le moment. Depuis, j’essaie de choisir des endroits où je me sens vraiment à l’aise plutôt que de me fier uniquement aux recommandations populaires. Cela m’a fait réaliser que le ressenti sur place est souvent…
The projection that over 1.2 million people in Lebanon may face acute hunger highlights the urgent need for a coordinated international response and sustainable support systems. Researchers and policymakers require both relief efforts and science journal publication analysis of crises to comprehend root causes, which will lead to the development of better permanent solutions.