Lebanon cannot afford to 'become another Gaza', UN chief warns as families flee amid Israel escalation

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Lebanon cannot afford to “become another Gaza”, the head of the United Nations has warned, saying the country is “on the brink”.

Lebanon's health ministry says 558 people have been killed, including 50 children - and 1,835 more injured - since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensified on Monday.

Families in Lebanon are sheltering in schools turned into refugee shelters and the “air is filled with the sound of ambulances”, aid workers have warned, as Israeli strikes force thousands to leave their homes.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, secretary general Antonio Guterres warned that the situation in Lebanon needed to be cooled before the situation deteriorates further.

Without specifying who he was referring to, Mr Guterres said there was a growing number of governments and other groups who feel they are “entitled to a get out of jail free card.”

He said: “Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world – cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”

Unicef deputy representative to Lebanon, Ettie Higgins, said any further escalation in the situation would be “catastrophic” for the country’s children and warned that Monday had been “Lebanon’s worst day in 18 years”.

She said: “Children are in danger as I speak, exposed to ongoing attacks, displaced from their homes and unable to rely on an overstretched and under-sourced health system.

“Any further escalation in this conflict would be catastrophic for all children in Lebanon, but especially families from villages and towns in the south and the Bekaa, in Eastern Lebanon, who have been forced to leave their homes. These newly displaced add to the 112,000 people who have been displaced since October.

Schools are closed today across the country, leaving children at home in fear. Their caregivers are themselves afraid of the uncertainty of the situation. This fear cannot be overstated, as the barrage of shelling and air raids continue, and increase, daily.

“This violence has to stop immediately or the consequences will be unconscionable.”

Meanwhile, a “targeted” strike on an apartment block in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killing six people, was aimed at a Hezbollah leader, reports have claimed.

Israel has hit "dozens" of Hezbollah targets in multiple locations across southern Lebanon in the past two days, sparking a mass evacuation of the region.

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Evacuation orders have been issued to families in the Bekaa Valley and South Lebanon, with families forced to travel north to seek safety. Petrol stations are said to be crowded with people trying to refuel their cars in an effort to escape.   

Malak, a safe space officer from The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, a partner of UK charity ActionAid in West Bekaa Valley, said:   “A significant displacement is underway, with many families fleeing to Jeb Jennine, which is seen as safer than the surrounding villages. Schools are being converted into shelters for the displaced, and the air is filled with the constant sound of ambulances.”

Some people who did not find shelter elsewhere slept in cars and parks and on a seaside road, while hotels in Beirut were quickly booked to capacity and apartments in the mountains surrounding the capital were snapped up by families seeking safe accommodation.

Some offered up empty apartments or rooms in their houses in social media posts, while volunteers set up a kitchen at an empty gas station in Beirut to cook meals for the displaced.

Malak added: “People are arriving with nothing after being forced to abandon their homes. Their immediate needs must be addressed urgently. Our priority is ensuring their safety and providing shelter – whether through temporary accommodation in shelters, hotels, or with host families – and ensuring security, especially for vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly. We are currently assessing their urgent needs and will do everything we can to support them.”

Israel’s military said 75 rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday, with some starting fires and damaging buildings in the country’s north. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched missiles overnight at eight sites in Israel, including an explosives factory in Zichron, 37 miles from the border.

The escalation of tensions began last week, when thousands of pagers and walkie talkies exploded, killing 37 people. Israel has not taken public responsibility for the attacks.

Israel says it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion but is prepared for one, after moving thousands of troops who had been serving in Gaza to the northern border. It says Hezbollah has launched some 9,000 rockets and drones into Israel since last October, including 250 on Monday alone.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey was expected to chair a Cobra meeting on Tuesday afternoon amid rising tensions in the Middle East.