UN warns Gaza and Lebanon operations face critical shortages; flash appeal less than 38% funded

UN agencies warned that humanitarian response efforts in Gaza and Lebanon face critical funding and supply shortages, limiting partners’ ability to sustain food, shelter and health services for displaced and vulnerable people.

The spokesperson said UNRWA and partners have implemented disease‑control measures, cleaning campaigns and targeted pesticide applications across roughly 370 displacement sites in Gaza hosting more than 680,000 people. Partners provided general food assistance to over 750,000 people across about three dozen distribution sites; approximately 120,000 two‑kilogram bread bundles are produced daily by about 30 subsidized bakeries, and partners were preparing more than 700,000 meals each day through about 100 community kitchens.

On shelter, agencies reported providing tents, tarpaulins, bedding kits and clothing vouchers to roughly 4,000 households; they repaired or upgraded about 850 makeshift shelters and completed repairs on about 450 damaged homes. Despite these efforts, stock levels were reported near depletion because of supply‑chain disruptions and funding gaps.

In Lebanon, the UN and the government launched a revised flash appeal on 5 June seeking nearly $640 million to provide life‑saving assistance to about 1.4 million vulnerable people through August; as of the briefing the appeal was funded at under 38%, approximately $242 million. The spokesperson urged donors to scale up resources and stressed that unimpeded humanitarian access is essential to enable safe, voluntary and dignified returns for displaced families.

Agencies also reported ongoing malnutrition screening: in the first half of June partners screened more than 31,000 children, identifying nearly 1,500 cases of acute malnutrition (including over 200 severe cases), and screened about 24,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women for nutrition concerns. Identified cases were enrolled for treatment, but responders warned additional funding and deliveries of refrigeration and other equipment are needed to sustain food security as temperatures rise.

UN officials appealed for increased donor support to bridge immediate gaps while coordinating with national authorities and partners to scale up assistance.