The escalating war in the Middle East, now in its 8th day, has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, according to UN agencies said.
Eight days since Israeli and US bombing in Iran prompted ongoing counter-strikes across the Middle East, humanitarians confirmed massive upheaval in Lebanon, with hundreds of shelters now full, as whole suburbs of Beirut have emptied.
“Israel’s military ground incursions into southern Lebanon, blanket displacement orders for the population in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekka region and the full area to the south of the Latani River, and its continued airstrikes on different parts of the country are bringing more misery, more suffering to an already weary civilian population,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in Geneva on Friday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement warning that, “All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region – and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people.
“The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control.
“It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations. The stakes could not be higher,” the UN chief added.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump said he will only accept “unconditional surrender” from Iran as the US and Israel continue to strike that country, prompting continued Iranian retaliation.
“There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender!” the US president said on his Truth Social platform.
“After that, and the selection of a great & acceptable leader (s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. Iran will have a great future,” he added.
From the UN migration agency, IOM, Chief of Mission Lebanon Mathieu Luciano described the dramatic deterioration in the country on Thursday evening as the Israeli army carried out “multiple air strikes on the southern suburb of Beirut overnight”.
He added that many collective shelters are at full capacity, especially in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, “so, people are just redirected to other shelters, especially in the north, in Al Qaa, in safe places in the Bekka as well.”
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has declared the escalating crisis a major humanitarian emergency requiring an immediate regional response.
UNHCR Director for Emergencies Ayaki Ito told journalists in Geneva that the conflict is triggering significant population movements across the region and into Southwest Asia.
Nearly 25 million people in the affected areas are already refugees, internally displaced or recent returnees, placing additional strain on fragile host countries.
The major commercial shipping crisis caused by the war which has practically halted all vessel movement in the Strait of Hormuz south of Iran is already impacting UN agencies and partners seeking to dispatch lifesaving relief to Gaza and Sudan, among other emergencies.
The narrow channel carries nearly one-fifth of global oil along with large volumes of commercial goods.
“All traffic via sea has significantly slowed down,” said Anne Schaefer, IOM Deputy Director for humanitarian response and recovery. “This is the case in Port Sudan, but also in other ports of the continent.”
For Gaza, shelter items, tarps, tents and lamps “are all stuck in different stages, unable to now arrive”, she said, before warning of “a significant deterioration of the supply chain very, very quickly”.
The impact on relief missions to Sudan is also of particular concern as the humanitarian situation “is deteriorating very, very quickly”, the IOM official continued.
“And of course, the rainy season is just around the corner, coming up, so, if we do not get the supplies in the next six weeks to eight weeks, it’s going to be very, very difficult to reach populations, especially in Darfur.”
Echoing those concerns, the UN health agency’s Dr. Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, confirmed that much-needed supplies are not transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. But she noted that flights were now resuming from Dubai, which is a major logistics hub for the entire humanitarian system.
“We have more than 50 emergency supply requests across 25 countries that have been affected by that current pause,” Dr. Balkhy noted, including Lebanon, Yemen and Somalia.
Meanwhile, Iranian ambassador to the UN, Amir Iravani, addressed reporters at UN Headquarters Friday evening from outside the Security Council saying his country was not seeking war or escalation “but Iran will never surrender its sovereignty.”
He said his country would take all necessary measures to defend itself, its territory and independence.
Iravani called on all Member States to condemn “this criminal war against the Iranian people,” calling on the Security Council to “act now, firmly, clearly and without delay – failure to act will have catastrophic consequences.