Lebanon crisis: the Lebanese Red Cross responds to escalation in hostilities

Latest news

• Hostilities between Israel and Lebanon escalated in March 2026.
• More than 1.2 million people are now registered with the Lebanese government as displaced, according to the UN Refugee Agency. 
• 133,000 people are registered in collective shelters.  
• Lebanese Red Cross is providing round-the-clock support to communities across Lebanon.

What is happening in Lebanon?

Following the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross have responded across the country. The scale of the crisis is huge.

The Lebanese Red Cross is the lead emergency responder and the country's main provider of ambulance services. They have attended to over 55,000 patients in primary health centres and mobile medical units. 

In addition, they have distributed 7,900 blood units for transfusion. 

With over a million people fleeing their homes in the conflict, the Lebanese Red Cross has so far delivered over:

• 21,000 blankets  
• 7,720 mattresses  
• 5,105 hygiene kits  
• 200,000 food and water parcels

The Lebanese Red Cross is also managing the largest collective shelter in the country at a stadium in Beirut. Over 1,000 people forced to flee their homes are being registered and supported there. 

“We only need access to hot water so we can bathe our children since they cannot bear the cold. We also need clothes and shoes for the children, as these are basic needs. We are not asking for anything else”, Layla, an internally displaced person in Lebanon, told the IFRC MENA. 

All Red Cross and Red Crescent teams in the Middle East remain on high alert and are ready to scale up their response to meet urgent humanitarian needs. Find out more about the response.

Hospitals and health centres forced to close: the impact on civilians in Lebanon

Red Cross teams are doing everything they can to save lives and support people, often in extremely dangerous conditions. 

As the conflict continues, Lebanese Red Cross teams are carrying out search and rescue operations as well as health and ambulance support.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is extremely worried about the impact of the ongoing escalation in hostilities on civilians.

In Lebanon, 48 primary healthcare centres and 5 hospitals have had to close, reducing access to essential and life-saving medical services. At the same time, more people are being killed or wounded, which puts even more pressure on the health facilities that are still open.

The Lebanese Red Cross has also felt the impact, with ambulance volunteer Yousef Assaf killed while evacuating injured people from Majdal Zoun. Two emergency medical volunteers were injured in Arnoun in South Lebanon during rescue operations. Both are now getting hospital treatment.

International humanitarian law must be respected

Tragically, two colleagues from the Lebanese Red Cross Society have been killed while carrying out their humanitarian work.  

International humanitarian law should ensure that civilians and essential services like hospitals and schools are protected at all times. Medical and humanitarian workers must also be allowed to work safely.  

Gabriel Karlsson says, “Our teams work around the clock, from deploying rescue specialists to remote mountains to rushing into urban areas immediately after an attack.  

But to do this safely, we need the rules of war to be upheld. Since the escalation in hostilities, we have seen Iranian Red Crescent buildings damaged and emergency medical volunteers in Lebanon injured. 

Any attack on humanitarian personnel weakens entire communities and comprises our ability to help the people who need it most.” 

The Lebanon-Israel conflict since October 2023

Since the attacks in Israel in October 2023, and the  escalation of the conflict that led to unprecedented suffering in Gaza, the intensity of fighting in Israel and Lebanon has escalated. 

While there was a ceasefire from November 2024 until the current conflict began in March 2026, Lebanon was still suffering from the previous crisis. 

It also faces the impacts of a dire socio-economic crisis and is still recovering from the 2020 Beirut port explosion that left an estimated 300,000 people homeless. 

In summer 2024 the situation got even worse. After a sudden increase in hostilities, more than 90,000 people fled Southern Lebanon, as people tried to escape the fighting. More than 110,000 had been displaced from the area already. 

Where is Lebanon?

Lebanon is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's southern border is shared with Israel, while Syria borders Lebanon to the east and north. Lebanon has a population of 5.2 million according to the United Nations Populations Fund. 

How did the Lebanese Red Cross respond in 2023-2024?

During the 2023-2024 escalation of hostilities, the Lebanese Red Cross provided around the clock support to communities across Lebanon, deploying 254 ambulances and 810 emergency medical volunteers across Lebanon to support the increased number of casualties.

Across the country, they distributed:

• 716,705 ready meals and bread bundles
• 92,000 food parcels
• 55,384 blankets
• 35,094 mattresses
• 37,556 hygiene kits

The Lebanese Red Cross also supported in urban search and rescue and evacuation.

Before the 2024 escalation in conflict, they had already supported around 10,000 people with medical services, around 18,500 families with food parcels and 11,000 families with hygiene kits.

The Lebanese Red Cross also runs the country’s lead blood bank service, and volunteers collected and distributed hundreds of units of blood.  

How did the British Red Cross support the response in Lebanon?

The British Red Cross has been working in partnership with the Lebanese Red Cross for many years. Now and during the 2023-2024 conflict, we directly support the Lebanese Red Cross emergency medical services and blood transfusion services.

What was the situation in Israel?

Magen David Adom is Israel’s national emergency service and part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It is currently on its highest level of alert, preparing to respond to the needs of those affected across Israel, as it has done since October 2023.

In the current crisis, Magen David Adom has mobilised staff and volunteers nationwide. Their work includes

• launching mobile intensive care units, emergency medical bikes and rapid‑response vehicles
• treating and evacuating affected people to hospitals
• transferring patients from non‑sheltered facilities to safer locations
• holding blood drives at secure sites across the country
• launching ‘door to door blood drives’, which place blood donation vans in shared residential buildings across the country 

Since 28 February, Magen David Adom has provided medical treatment and evacuated 1,706 casualties to hospital. One of their stations and two vehicles have been damaged during the conflict.

Before the November 2024 ceasefire, families along the frontline and beyond were significantly impacted in Israel, with around 80,000 people displaced so far and communities facing continued uncertainty and fear.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent response will continue across the wider region, and we will continue to work closely to support all communities affected by this crisis.

What is happening in the wider region?  

Since the devastating attacks in Israel in October 2023, and the escalation of conflict in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that has unfolded, we have seen a surge in fighting across the Middle East.

This has led to an increase in civilian casualties and to the displacement of thousands of people. Every day, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the region continue to provide lifesaving support to those affected.

With fighting intensifying, we are deeply concerned by the increasing humanitarian impact and suffering, in a region where humanitarian services are already stretched. 

"These painful events must be a call to action to prioritise the protection of civilian lives during armed conflict," says Gabriel Karlsson, British Red Cross’s Middel East country cluster manager based in Beirut.

"The British Red Cross will continue to support the Lebanese Red Cross, and National Societies across the wider region, as the humanitarian needs increase."

How does the crisis affect Syrian refugees?

In this latest wave of conflict, the UN Refugee Agency reports that more than 147,804 people crossed in Syria from Lebanon from 2 to 18 March.

This includes 132,186 Syrians, many of whom were refugees living in Lebanon. The other 15,618 are Lebanese nationals seeking safety.

Lebanon was hosting approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees in 2024. Following the escalation in violence in Lebanon, there was an increase in the number of returnees and refugees into Syria. 
 
It is estimated that 460,000 Lebanese and Syrian nationals who had been living in Lebanon, crossed from Lebanon to Syria in 2024. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent responded to the arrival of Lebanese and Syrian families returning to Syria amidst the ongoing crisis.

Red Crescent volunteers and staff actively provided medical care, first aid, and essential relief services. This included distributing 263,000 bottles of water, 187,000 instant food items, 62,000 mattresses, and 104,000 blankets at key crossings.