More than one million people in Lebanon currently face acute food insecurity. The United Nations issued the warning on Wednesday.
The figure represents nearly a quarter of the population facing crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse. A joint statement from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, and the Lebanese agriculture ministry detailed the findings.
Officials issued an appeal for urgent action to alleviate the worsening hunger across the country.
Projections indicate that this vulnerable population will increase to 1.15 million individuals by the middle of next year.
The UN bodies pointed to several drivers behind the crisis. Employment opportunities remain limited, savings have been depleted and debt remains high. The cost of food, fuel and other essentials continues to strain household budgets.
The UN classification for these levels of food insecurity applies to households suffering from malnutrition or relying on emergency measures, such as selling assets, simply to meet minimum survival needs.
Conditions are of the greatest concern in conflict-affected areas of south Lebanon, alongside impoverished regions in the north and east of the country.
Lebanon has endured two successive wars with neighboring Israel since 2023. The nation remains mired in an economic collapse that began seven years ago.
National authorities estimate that the financial cost of two wars between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah since October 2023 reaches approximately $27 billion.
The conflict launched in March displaced more than one million residents. That number has decreased to around 300,000 since violence subsided in June.
The outbreak of fighting compounded an economic crash that started in 2019. During this time, Beirut has sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund while struggling to implement required reform conditions.
