Geneva: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed deep concern on Friday over the large wave of displacement caused by the intense Israeli bombing in Lebanon and a series of evacuation orders in the southern region. This came during a press conference in Geneva where OCHA deputy spokesperson Jens Laerke stated that recent developments over the past two days are very worrying. According to Kuwait News Agency, Laerke was also alarmed over entire families being killed under the rubble, reporting that the total death toll is 2,800 with 13,000 others injured, most of them in October. Laerke stated that nearly 50,000 people have left the city of Baalbek for the second time in the past two days, bringing the total number of people forcibly displaced by the Israeli aggression in Lebanon to 843,000. Half of the internally displaced people are women and girls. He said that over 460,000 people had sought refuge in Syria and another 25,000 had fled to Iraq. Laerke explained that the humanitarian appeal for Lebanon amounting to USD 426 million has received only less than 17 percent of the required funding, noting that this severe funding shortfall limits the humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict.
