As the Syrian Arab Republic (hereafter referred to as Syria) enters a new year, the impact of the shift in power over a year ago (8 December 2024) continues to shape the country.
The hostilities which have been ongoing for close to one-month have already claimed the lives of 1,238 people in Lebanon, including most recently rescue workers, journalists and a UN peacekeeper.
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.
The cost of living continues to outpace income growth; despite policy measures seeking to enhance purchasing power, current wage levels meet only around one‑third of basic household needs.
Since the beginning of March 2026, the escalation of hostilities across Lebanon has driven a rapid and severe deterioration in the humanitarian situation. Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and expanded ground operations continue to intensify in scale, frequency, and geographic scope, affecting areas that had previously remained less exposed.
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.
Hostilities intensified across multiple areas of Lebanon, further aggravating humanitarian needs and exposing large civilian populations to sustained insecurity. The impact is especially acute in locations hosting displaced families, where renewed forced displacement orders are forcing repeated movements within short periods.
Hostilities continue to directly impact nearly the entire population residing south of the Litani River, as well as parts of Baalbek Governorate, the Bekaa Valley, and large areas of Beirut’s southern suburbs. More than one million people are now affected by the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, with casualty figures continuing to rise.
116,900 IDPs remain internally displaced across 165 communities in Aleppo and Al-Hasakeh governorates. Critical infrastructure failures continue to impede basic services, with frequent electricity outages affecting water stations, hospitals and referral pathways.
This report is produced by OCHA Lebanon Office in collaboration with Inter-Sector Coordination Group under 2026 Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) Framework. It covers the period from 02 to 06 March 2026.
This report is produced by OCHA Lebanon Office in collaboration with Inter-Sector Coordination Group under 2026 Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) Framework. It covers the period from 2 to 5 March 2026.
Hostilities in Lebanon have further escalated with intense airstrikes reported across multiple areas north and south of the Litani River including South, Nabatieh, Beirut, Bekaa, Baalbek-El Hermel, Mount Lebanon and the North. Ground clashes have also been reported in parts of southern Lebanon.
Hostilities in Lebanon escalated, with intense airstrikes across multiple areas north and south of the Litani river (South, Nabatieh, Beirut, Bekaa, Baalbek-El Hermel, Mount Lebanon, and Akkar) on the 2 nd of March 2026.
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.
In 2025, Yemen’s displacement crisis continued to deepen rather than stabilize, layered on top of a decade-long emergency that has eroded services, livelihoods, and coping capacity. For millions of families, displacement was not a temporary disruption, but an ongoing reality shaped by rising poverty and weakened systems.
Lebanon faces deep socioeconomic, political, and security crises, affecting nearly half the population. The escalation of armed conflict in late 2023 and 2024 worsened conditions, particularly for the most marginalized children and families.
Following the opening of new prospects for voluntary returns to Syria at the end of 2024, the General Security Office (GSO) waived administrative fines and the re-entry ban for refugees returning to Syria as of 1 July 2025, and UNHCR launched its facilitated Voluntary Return (VolRep) programme.
