The United Nations (UN) announced on June 5, 2026 the launch of a $331.5 million extended flash appeal to Lebanon. Said flash appeal serves as an extension to the $308.3 million flash appeal that was launched on March 13, thereby bringing the total funding requirements to around $639.9 million. The original flash appeal covered the March-May 2026 period, while the newer flash appeal is meant to cover the June-August period. According to the UN, its humanitarian partners are seeking to extend their multi-sector assistance to reach 1.4 million vulnerable individuals in need (up from around 1.3 million earlier) while the targeted individuals will also be 1.4 million individuals (up from around 1.0 million before). The UN noted that the additional funding requirement reflects the widening scope and urgency of needs, namely continued assistance, newly identified needs, and new emerging activities that resulted from the evolving crisis. Furthermore, the UN revealed that as of May 31, some $185.9 million has been received out of the $639.9 million funding requirements. The UN also mentioned that as of May 2026, around 1 million individuals remained displaced, with over 135,000 individuals taking refuge in 635 collective shelters while hundreds of thousands of other individuals remain outside shelters with host families and in informal sites. In a related note, the UN stated that prospects for a safe return are still limited amid security concerns, damaged housing, and destroyed public infrastructure, only to name a few.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the number of casualties and injuries from the war are still on the rise, with the Ministry revealing that between March 2 and June 1, over 3,433 individuals were killed and more than 10,395 individuals were injured. The UN noted that since the beginning of the escalation on March 2, the flash appeal has identified major risks to healthcare, water systems, schools, and municipal services. More specifically, between March 2 and May 31, 190 incidents have been recorded, resulting in 128 deaths and 332 injuries among health care professionals. The UN added that the aforementioned attacks on Lebanese territories have targeted health workers, ambulances, medical facilities, and supply chains, thereby weakening the already frail healthcare infrastructure. In a related note, the UN commented that healthcare unaffordability is becoming a major concern for individuals affected by the escalation, with the findings of a preliminary rapid health assessment conducted in May revealing that in 15 of 26 districts across Lebanon, 60-80% of households could not afford health services, namely medications and hospitalization. The UN also stated that the latest version of the IPC report revealed that circa 1.24 million individuals (i.e. nearly one in four individuals analyzed) are expected to suffer from “emergency levels” of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+) between April and August 2026, noting that around 23% of agricultural areas have been damaged, destroyed, or have become inaccessible, while up to 78% of farmers reported that they are unable to access their farming land.

Strategy-wise, the UN noted that the logic, objectives, and overall response framework of the original 2026 flash appeal remain unchanged, while the extension of the flash appeal introduces adjustments to planning figures, activity packages, and financial requirements where needed and required in their operating environment. The UN revealed that there are three strategic objectives, the first centering around providing timely, life-saving, multi-sectoral assistance to decrease mortality, morbidity, and suffering among individuals affected by the renewed hostilities. More specifically, the UN mentioned that direct assistance will include emergency multi-purpose cash as well as access to essential services across shelter, food security, and health, only to name a few. The second strategic objective revolves around preventing, mitigating, and responding to the physical harm of civilians and civilian infrastructure by improving protection monitoring & analysis. The second objective also promotes strengthening communication and engagement with affected communities to ameliorate the access to accurate and timely information on humanitarian assistance. The third strategic objective’s purpose is to assist in the delivery of essential services (namely municipal water & sanitation, waste management, as well as emergency energy support) to allow for safe, timely, and effective humanitarian operations in areas affected by the escalation of hostilities. As per the UN, the extended flash appeal has introduced and expanded specific activities depending on the new requirements. More specifically, the extended flash appeal will establish & operate teaching and learning hubs in close proximity to active collective shelters, expand complimentary feeding kits, and will keep on providing lifesaving food assistance in and out of shelters, only to name a few.

Regarding the funding requirements, the $639.9 million aid will be mainly geared towards the areas of Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA; $134.00 million), food security and agriculture ($120.70 million), shelter ($88.00 million), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH; $80.00 million), health ($74.30 million), only to name a few. Delving into details, the MPCA will mainly target individuals affected by the conflict who are residing outside collective shelters (including hard-to-reach areas with functional markets) in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) to continue conforming to national social protection objectives. 

Concerning food security and agriculture, the UN noted that food assistance inside collective shelters will be in the form of hot meals and ready-to-eat assistance. In addition, the UN stated that arrangements will be made in coordination with the “Health” and “WASH” areas to provide assistance for communal kitchens and safe self-cooking arrangements including proper cooking capacity, and safe food handling. Regarding shelters, the UN revealed that shelters will no longer be used for temporary accommodation but rather for prolonged displacement arrangements. In addition, the UN noted that individuals living outside shelters are suffering from rising rents, decreasing income, and depleted savings, which are limiting families’ abilities to preserve private accommodation. Inside collective shelters, however, a larger number of shelter sites are expected to remain in operation for longer than initially expected, thereby necessitating repairs and minimal standards. As for WASH, the UN stated that its’ priority needs encompass repairing and maintaining damaged water and sanitation infrastructure, providing emergency water services, and ensuring access to emergency sanitation facilities. Outside the shelters, the main concern is no longer just immediate household support, but also the continuity of water services in affected areas. Concerning health, the UN commented that the urgent health needs include emergency trauma care for injured individuals, access to primary healthcare services in displacement areas, availability of essential medications and treatments for chronic diseases, only to name a few.