Press release
One year from the ceasefire in Lebanon
Ongoing violations, collapsing livelihoods and disrupted access pose urgent risks.
Far from being consolidated, the ceasefire in Lebanon has all but disintegrated since its agreement on 27 November 2024. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has recorded more than 10,000 violations by Israeli forces north of the Blue Line. [1] Separately the UN Human Rights Office reported four incidents of projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel. [2]
The effects are wide-ranging and devastating. Over 64,000 people remain displaced as a result of the conflict, while thousands more face restricted access to safe water, food and health services. Families returning to their villages face serious risks due to the presence of explosive remnants, damaged homes and disrupted services.
« People are desperate to return home and rebuild their lives, but in many cases, they fear there is nothing to return to ».
Basic services collapsed and food insecurity rising
Two recent reports by Action Against Hunger, Oxfam and Insecurity Insight highlight the conflict’s disruption to safe water and food security – basic needs essential to life. The first, ‘When Bombs Turn the Taps Off: the Impact of the Conflict on Water Infrastructure in Lebanon’, notes that 150,000 individuals in the south are without access to running water due to damage inflicted at a critical pumping station, which remains out of operation. According to the second, ‘We Lost Everything: the Impact of the Conflict on Farmers and Food Security in Lebanon’, 90% of farmers interviewed have seen their production fall, and in some cases wiped out entirely.
According to the latest IPC projection, 1.24 million people – a fifth of the population – currently face acute food insecurity. With escalating food prices, the cost of the minimum survival basket is unaffordable for most. Prolonged drought and chronic water shortages exacerbate the situation, affecting both agricultural livelihoods and public health. Meanwhile operational health centers lack supplies and staff, while inflation and unemployment prevent households from affording medical care.
Suzanne Takkenberg notes that the recovery effort has been further undermined by a series of attacks on assets used for reconstruction, including bulldozers, fuel depots and construction materials. “We are seeing what looks like a sustained campaign to prevent safe returns and rehabilitation. This kind of targeting not only depletes the resources and funding that are needed to restore services, but it deters local operators from persevering with the response – something that we’re seeing increasingly as a humanitarian community,” she adds.
Restricted humanitarian access
This response is further impeded by the ongoing occupation by Israeli forces of several areas near the border, despite the ceasefire agreement’s call for their full withdrawal from Lebanese territory. This presence, as well as ongoing security risks, poses obstacles for humanitarian operations. Action Against Hunger relocated from its office in Tyre during the conflict itself, not long before a strike hit a neighbouring building. Having returned after the ceasefire, teams continue to deliver vital assistance to those in need, including in the most volatile areas, but periodically are forced to temporarily pause operations due to strikes in the vicinity. Bureaucratic access requirements in Israeli-occupied areas pose particular challenges for local authorities in delivering essential services.
Instability is rising against the backdrop of decreasing available humanitarian funding. “Without additional resources, these critical needs will continue to escalate in 2026,” says Suzanne Takkenberg.
Action Against Hunger has been working in Lebanon since 2006 to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations. Since the beginning of the conflict, the organisation has been working to ensure assistance to displaced people and those trying to return, through rehabilitating basic water and sanitation infrastructure, supporting agricultural recovery and food security, and meeting health and nutrition needs in the most affected areas.
« One year on, peace remains an unfulfilled promise for thousands of families. We need to act now to prevent this crisis from becoming a protracted catastrophe. Action Against Hunger urges all parties to respect the ceasefire, ensure unrestricted humanitarian access and prioritise the protection of civilians. The international community must redouble its financial support to prevent an irreversible deterioration of living conditions in Lebanon. »
Suzanne Takkenberg, director of Action Against Hunger in Lebanon.
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