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Beirut, Sep 29 (IANS) The World Food Programme (WFP) launched an emergency operation on Sunday to provide food assistance for up to one million people affected by the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A statement released by WFP said the agency is distributing ready-to-eat food rations, bread, hot meals, and food parcels to families in shelters nationwide.
"This weekend's further acceleration of the conflict underscored the need for an immediate humanitarian response. This comes after thousands of people had already been displaced, compounding the fragility of a population burdened by accumulated crises," WFP said.
According to the statement, WFP has been providing assistance on the ground since day one of the crisis, reaching more than 66,000 individuals in shelters across the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
"To continue these critical operations, WFP urgently requires $105 million until the end of the year and calls on the international community to mobilise resources and support the humanitarian response," the statement added.
"Lebanon is at a breaking point and cannot endure another war," said Corinne Fleischer, WFP regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.
"WFP is on the ground, but we urgently need funds. More urgently, the people in the region need peace."
Meanwhile, during a meeting with the cabinet to discuss the latest developments in the region, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the number of displaced people due to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon may reach one million.
Mikati described the scale of the displacement as "the largest in the history of Lebanon," calling for "a ceasefire on all fronts".
Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have sharply escalated after the latter announced a shift in military focus from the Gaza Strip to the northern front.
This intensified the ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, triggering retaliatory Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.
--IANS
int/khz
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