In 2025, the MENA region faced overlapping crises including conflict, displacement, economic collapse, disease outbreaks, and climate shocks, placing children at risk and disrupting access to services.
Lebanon continues to confront a massive humanitarian crisis, despite the entry into effect of a 10-day ceasefire on 17 April, with hundreds of thousands of people remaining internally displaced and in urgent need of assistance.
Across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, people continue to be exposed to high levels of violence and restrictive policies, resulting in casualties and property damage, prolonging existing displacement, triggering new displacement and deepening humanitarian needs.
As of early 2026, 16.5 million require assistance, while over 1.4 million refugees and 1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned since December 2024.
During his recent visit to Lebanon on 31 March, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, engaged Government officials, first responders and affected families impacted by the escalation.
The economic vulnerability of refugees markedly deteriorated throughout 2025, with the proportion of those reporting an inability to meet half of basic needs increasing from 44% in Q2 to 72% in Q4.
Escalating hostilities in the region in late February triggered an increase in cross-border movements from Lebanon into Syria. Between 2 and 27 March, over 202,477 individuals crossed into Syria through the three official border crossings, according to Syrian authorities.
Following the full-scale invasion of Lebanon launched on 2 March 2026, Israeli airstrikes have continued at high intensity in Beirut’s southern suburbs and across villages in southern and eastern Lebanon.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Lebanon in a solidarity mission, highlighting the severity of the crisis and calling for protection of civilians and increased international support. Together with the Government of Lebanon, he launched 2026 Flash Appeal.
It has been just over a week since the new escalation in conflict started on 2 March, when Israeli evacuation warnings to residents of more than 53 villages and densely populated areas in Lebanon and intensified airstrikes forced families across Lebanon to flee within minutes. Lives have been upended on a massive scale.
Civilian deaths and injuries continue to increase daily, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). Evacuation orders and ongoing airstrikes have worsened conditions for civilians, forcing many to experience multiple displacements.
In Gaza, restrictions on aid operations mounted as crossing closures were accompanied by the suspension of humanitarian movement coordination, medical evacuations, returns of residents from abroad, and staff rotations. The closure of the crossings drove up prices and increased reliance on humanitarian assistance.
The UN estimates that in 2026, 16.5 million people across Syria need humanitarian assistance. Since the political transition in December 2024 until the end of January 2026, over 1.3 million Syrians have returned home from countries of asylum.
As part of the Syria Earthquake Emergency Appeal, CHF 6 million was made available to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in December 2024 to support the continuation of planned response and recovery activities.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza remained severe throughout January 2026, despite a ceasefire, with the population facing acute shelter needs, displacement, and challenges in aid delivery amid harsh winter conditions.
In Syria, despite the end of the war, people continue to live with the heavy legacy of fourteen years of brutal conflict. Years of aerial attacks and protracted hostilities, including in rural areas around Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib, have destroyed homes and essential infrastructure, left countless families with no choice but to flee.
