
(Credit: Hadi Bou Ayash/FAO Lebanon)
BEIRUT — Nearly a third of the population of Lebanon is facing "acute food insecurity" in the aftermath of the two-month-long Israeli bombing campaign against southern and eastern Lebanon in late 2024, according to a report released Wednesday jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP). "Recovery is likely to be slow," WFP warns in its press release.
Hezbollah and Israel's latest conflict started in October 2023, escalated in September 2024 before a cease-fire was reached in November. The new food security assessment shows that "hostilities have affected the agricultural sector and the economy, causing a slow recovery."
Around 1.65 million people in Lebanon — Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian alike — are "currently experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above)," an analysis using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) found. This is compared to 1.26 million (23 percent of the population) before the escalation. Meanwhile, 201,000 people are facing emergency levels (Phase 4 of the classification), double the number before the escalation.
From October to November 2024, 928,000 Lebanese residents, 579,000 Syrian refugees and 84,000 Palestinian refugees experienced Phase 3 (described as "people in crisis") or above. Phase 4 is "emergency" and Phase 5 "catastrophe."
The Baalbeck governorate has been classified by the report as the hardest hit, with the highest number of people experiencing Phase 4 levels.
“Lebanon’s worsening food security is no surprise,” the WFP Representative in Lebanon, Matthew Hollingworth is cited as saying in the organization's statement.
“Sixty-six days of war, preceded by months of conflict, have shattered lives and livelihoods," Hollingworth said. "While some can return home after the cease-fire, others face the harsh reality of having no home left to return to. At this critical moment, our mission is clear: to support the government and the people in rebuilding their lives and food systems.”
These levels of food insecurity are expected to persist, according to the reports authors, over the next three months, with "no short-term return to pre-crisis conditions." A "slight deterioration" of the situation is expected in the period between now and March 2025, and the "protracted economic contraction as a residual effect of the conflict will persist."
The report predicts a reduction of humanitarian food assistance and warns that the cease-fire does not directly correspond with an improvement of the food security situation seeing as internally displaced people will be often returning to districts devastated by attacks.
FAO's representative in Lebanon, Veronica Quattrola, said that the "hostilities have significantly impacted farmers' livelihoods, as well as agricultural assets and infrastructure, exacerbating food insecurity and threatening the livelihoods of farmers."
Minister of Agriculture comments
WFP's statement includes comments from outgoing Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan, who emphasized the importance of sustainability, transparency and trust in all agricultural projects.
“These partnerships [with FAO and and WFP] strengthen our nation, which needs support from international bodies and local partners," he is cited as saying, "Sustained cooperation is key to achieving sustainable development for Lebanon’s agricultural sector.”
Assessing the damages caused Israel is part of the process of "compensating affected farmers," Hassan said, with the priority being to secure funding for Lebanon's rehabilitation.
In November, the World Bank estimated that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which began on Oct. 8, 2023 has cost Lebanon $8.5 billion, including $124 million of losses in agriculture or 3.6 percent of the total damage observed. According to the collected data, residential buildings were the hardest hit by the Israeli bombardment, with almost $2.8 billion worth of damage, making up nearly 82 percent.