New York, May 08 (QNA) – Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations Stephane Dujarric said that more than one million people in Lebanon remain displaced, including 126,000 people being hosted in more than 600 collective shelters across the country, while most displaced people continue to stay outside official shelters.
During the daily press briefing, he added that since Mar. 2, the United Nations has facilitated the passage of 110 humanitarian convoys and missions. However, aid delivery operations continue to face restrictions and obstacles resulting from insecurity, movement restrictions, unexploded ordnance, and damage to civilian infrastructure.
Regarding peacekeeping operations, Dujarric said that peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) continue to monitor intensive military activities carried out by Israeli forces throughout the mission area, including heavy armored movements, extensive engineering operations, and ongoing logistical activity.
He warned that peacekeepers and United Nations sites are being directly affected by the ongoing hostilities. Yesterday, structural damage was caused to the outer walls of three buildings inside a UNIFIL site in El Biyada as a result of exchanges of fire and Israeli military activity in nearby areas.
Dujarric also expressed deep concern over reports indicating that civilians, including children, were killed in an Israeli strike on Wednesday evening on an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs. He noted that this was the first attack targeting the Lebanese capital since the ceasefire announced on Apr. 17 and its subsequent extension.