UNICEF Lebanon Humanitarian Situation Report No. 1 - 01 January-15 February 2025
Highlights
- In 2025, children in Lebanon are bearing the profound toll of the conflict that escalated across the country in 2024. A new UNICEF report exposes the deterioration of key support systems for children — such as safe learning environments, and access to healthcare, nutrition, and clean water — leading to heightened risks of exploitation, barriers to processing emotional trauma, and significant challenges to their cognitive and social development.
- More than 103,000 people remained internally displaced in Lebanon as of January 2025, with 70 per cent of them being children and women. Additionally, Lebanese authorities have recorded nearly 90,000 new arrivals from Syria since December 2024.
- In the post-conflict transition context, UNICEF programmes are supporting national efforts to recover and reform critical social services, including reopening public schools and repairing water and health facilities. By January 2025, UNICEF’s support to public systems had benefited more 1.7 million people in Lebanon.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The effects of the conflict that escalated across Lebanon in 2023-2024 continue to be felt by children and families in 2025. The ceasefire, initially agreed to last until 27 January 2025, was extended until 18 February 2025, with regular violations of its terms being reported, including 58 civilians killed, and sustained restrictions to the return of residents of Lebanon’s villages near the Blue Line. By the end of January 2025, more than 103,000 people remained internally displaced (IDPs) — 70 per cent children and women — while over 883,000 IDPs had begun returning home.
After more than two years under a caretaker government, Lebanon formed a new government in February 2025, including a new Prime Minister and President. The new government faces challenges related to sustained military activities, pre-existing vulnerabilities due to the financial crisis, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and services during the conflict. Preliminary damage assessments have revealed the destruction of at least 14 schools, with over 100 schools heavily damaged; the disruption of operations in 40 hospitals; closure of 100 primary health centres and dispensaries; damage to at least 45 water networks; and destruction of over 268 hectares of crops and 446 tonnes of produce. Full assessments of the damage caused by the conflict are being finalised by humanitarian and development actors in coordination with the Lebanese government.
Population movements across the Lebanon-Syria border linked to the changes in the Syrian government have decelerated. By mid-February 2025, Lebanese authorities had reported around 89,400 arrivals from Syria since December 2024 — 36 per cent sheltering in 186 informal collective sites and 64 per cent living within host communities — among them 20,000 Lebanese returnees.
A new Child-Focused Rapid Assessment conducted in Lebanon by UNICEF in January 2025 shows that 45 per cent of surveyed households were forced to cut spending on health, 30 per cent reduced spending on education, and 33 per cent did not have access to the medications their children needed. The assessment also revealed that even after the ceasefire, school attendance remains low — one in four children (25 per cent) is still out of school. Before the ceasefire, 65 per cent of children had been unable to attend school. See more details on Education on page four.
