UNICEF Lebanon Humanitarian Situation Report No. 4 (Mid-Year), 30 June 2025

Highlights:

• Children and families in Lebanon continue to endure the effects of cross-border conflict, as ceasefire violations persisted throughout the first half of 2025.
• UNICEF is responding to the needs of children and youth on the move, with over 249,000 people receiving relief items in 2025, including water, hygiene kits, baby kits, clothing, and blankets.
• Contributing to national efforts to restore essential social services, UNICEF’s support to public systems has benefited more than 2 million people in Lebanon through improved access to learning, clean water, sanitation, health, nutrition, social protection, child protection, and economic engagement.
• Lebanon is facing its worst drought in years, directly affecting water sources and service continuity. UNICEF leads the WASH Sector, which is monitoring growing impacts and developing data systems to identify high-risk areas and guide a targeted, coordinated response.

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SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

During the first half of 2025, children and families in Lebanon continued to endure the repercussions of the armed conflict that escalated in 2024, further weakening an already deteriorated economy and overstretched public services.
Ceasefire violations have persisted throughout the year, with strikes reaching areas far from the border and damaging civilian infrastructure, including homes, medical facilities, and roads. 1 According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, over 71 civilians were killed in Lebanon during the ceasefire period, among them nine children and 14 women. 2 The sustained military presence along the Blue Line has also prevented the full return of civilians to villages near the Lebanon–Israel border. As of June 2025, 82,632 people remained internally displaced—70 per cent of them women and children.

Most are hosted by communities, while nearly one per cent are staying in collective centres. Lebanon is experiencing its most severe drought in recent years, with this year’s winter bringing over 50 per cent less rainfall than average and minimal snow cover. 4 These conditions have sharply reduced surface and groundwater availability, affecting rivers, reservoirs, springs, and wells. Water volume in key dams is 65 per cent lower than 2024, threatening supply and hydropower, with rising salinity in wells supplying Beirut's straining urban water systems.

Following the change in the Syrian government in December 2024, Lebanon has recorded 106,786 new arrivals from Syria. This includes 61,036 arriving in Bekaa and Baalbek- El Hermel in late 2024, and 37,482 in Akkar and the North since March 2025, driven by escalating violence in coastal Syria. The majority of new arrivals are hosted by local communities, while nearly 10- 30 per cent are sheltering in (informal) collective shelters, depending on the region. 6 Voluntary return programmes have been launched by the Government of Lebanon to support the Syrian refugees in Lebanon in returning to Syria (see more on page six).

Despite these challenges, the election of a new president and government in Lebanon in early 2025 has opened a window for sustainable recovery efforts. The World Bank estimates Lebanon’s post- conflict reconstruction and recovery needs at US$ 11 billion. 7 UNICEF has issued a report highlighting how this series of crises have further weakened systems critical to children, including safe learning environments and access to healthcare, nutrition, and clean water, which leave children with increased risks of exploitation, unaddressed trauma, and impeded cognitive and social development. Notably, 45 per cent of households surveyed had to cut health spending, 30 per cent reduced education expenses, and 33 per cent reported no access to needed medication for their children.

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