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STORY: LEBANON / RESIDENT COORDINATOR INTERVIEW
TRT: 04:12
SOURCE: UN NEWS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON / FILE
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2. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“In the first week of this conflict, 83 children were killed. In terms of the overall fatality so far, in the 10 days or so of this, about 20 percent are children, about 21 percent are women. It is clear that there is a huge, huge toll on civilians from what is happening at this time.”
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4. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“We have 700,000 people who have self-registered now through the Ministry of Social Affairs as displaced in Lebanon and this is in the course of just over 9 or 8 days, we have about 120,000 that are in collective shelters at this time.”
FILE
6. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“When we talk about the impact on children, not only are children getting killed, not only are children being displaced, but also children are not having the opportunity to have their right to education.”
FILE
8. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“There is remarkable strength in this, and there's also a remarkable level of burden that's put on women. Women are the ones that are holding the families together, are the ones that organizing the evacuation and moving them, are ones that are trying to deal with what is such heavy psychological trauma amongst the kids, amongst the families, amongst themselves.”
FILE
10. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“With shipping, with the oil price, everything is also becoming far more, not just scarce, but expensive in terms of what you need as you go ahead. So yes, it is frankly a perfect storm of just unpredictable challenges that are hitting us.”
FILE
12. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“In the course of the last few days, we've put together a flash appeal that will be launched day after tomorrow on Friday of this week. So that will go out with a call to try to increase the level of humanitarian assistance that we can provide. It's for a period of three months. Unfortunately, I think we'll probably have to soon revise it because the needs will keep increasing. But right now, what we're trying to focus on are very much the essential life-saving needs.”
FILE
14. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“What we need more than anything is of course a return to some normalcy, a stop in the hostilities that's going on and that, of course, lies in the political realm, and so we need the political actors to do what they can. There are no humanitarian solutions, just as there are no military solutions.”
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16. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“We have to be able to get to people that are in need. People that are also in need also have to get able to us. And that means that there is, what we call a humanitarian notification system. That sort of deals with the warring parties to allow us to have the access that's happening and often you need a reminder from key member states on the belligerence in this to help us have that access.”
FILE
18. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
11 MARCH 2026, BEIRUT, LEBANON
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, United Nations:
“Finally, and probably most importantly is the protection of civilians, is the respect of international humanitarian law. That is essential because civilians are bearing the brunt and they don't need to bear the brunt of this.”
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20. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
A UN official warned that Lebanon crisis is deepening as civilians are bearing the brunt.
Lebanon is facing a “perfect storm of unpredictable challenges” as conflict, mass displacement and dwindling humanitarian resources converge, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, has warned.
The current escalation began on 2 March, when outgoing fire by Hezbollah drew a strong retaliation from Israel. Since then, the intensity of exchanges has increased, with heavier fire from Hezbollah and intensified attacks and some ground incursions from the Israeli side, leading to what Riza described as “full-blown humanitarian catastrophe.”
In just over a week, about 700,000 people have registered as displaced through Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs, according to Riza. The rapid displacement reflects the scale of the crisis and its growing impact on civilians.
“The toll on civilians is huge,” he said in an interview with UN News, pointing to the number of children among those killed. Eighty-three children were killed in the first week of the conflict, he said, with children accounting for about 20 percent of overall fatalities, while women make up roughly 21 percent.
The numbers underscore what Riza described as a recurring pattern in modern conflicts, where civilians — and particularly children — are disproportionately affected.
Displacement is also disrupting education across the country. Around 120,000 displaced people are staying in collective shelters, most of them set up in public schools. Classrooms have been turned into temporary living spaces, leaving many children without access to schooling.
“Not only are children getting killed and displaced,” Riza said, “but also children are not having the opportunity to have their right to education.”
Our interview with Riza was briefly interrupted by loud sound of explosions, he then continued talking about his visits to shelters across Lebanon.
Riza said he has heard similar stories from families forced to flee their homes within minutes after evacuation warnings covering large areas, including parts of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Many had only recently returned home after being displaced during the escalation in 2024 between Israel and Hezbollah and were trying to rebuild their lives.
“One of the things that many have said is that they were just trying to struggle to rebuild their lives,” he said.
Among those he met was a woman from Bint Jbeil who arrived at a shelter with her two children still wearing the pajamas they had on when they fled their home.
“She said thank you, we’ve got some blankets and mattresses,” Riza recalled. “But she asked if we could get clothes for her children — and a frying pan so she could cook for the other people sharing the room in the shelter.”
Despite the hardship, Riza said women are playing a central role in helping families cope.
“Women are the ones holding the families together,” he said, describing how many are organizing evacuations and supporting children dealing with trauma.
At the same time, the humanitarian response is becoming increasingly difficult. Riza said the current crisis is broader than the escalation seen in 2024, while Lebanon itself is in a weaker position.
Global humanitarian funding cuts have reduced available resources, and the strong regional support that helped during the previous crisis has been affected this time. During the 2024 escalation, Gulf countries — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain — provided significant assistance. But now, Riza said, those countries are themselves affected by the wider crisis and are not in a position to respond in the same way.
“All of this together is frankly a perfect storm of unpredictable challenges,” he said.
UN agencies are now repurposing existing funds to focus on life-saving priorities and preparing a flash appeal, that will be launched on Friday, to mobilize additional support. The UN is also drawing on the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund and seeking emergency funding.
Still, Riza stressed that humanitarian assistance alone cannot resolve the crisis.
“What we need more than anything is a stop in the hostilities,” he said, emphasizing that only a political and diplomatic process can end the suffering.
Until then, he called for urgent international support, humanitarian access to affected communities, and above all respect for international humanitarian law.
“Civilians are bearing the brunt,” Riza said. “They should not be the ones paying the price.”
