16/10/2026
On , 1.24 million people in Lebanon are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, including 101,000 people at emergency level (Phase 4). That’s a sharp rise from 874,000 (17%) earlier in the year.
The southern governorates are hit hardest. In Bent Jbeil, Marjaayoun, Nabatieh and Tyre, 55–65% of the population, among both Lebanese and Syrian refugees, are affected.
What’s driving it:
• renewed conflict and large-scale displacement
• lost livelihoods and income
• market disruption in conflict-affected areas
• rising food and fuel prices
• an expected reduction in food assistance
The wider conflict in the Middle East adds pressure on fuel and transport costs, import prices, remittances, and fertiliser and farming costs. All of this squeezes what families can afford.
The land has been hit too:
• 56,320 hectares of farmland affected
• $530.5 million in lost production in the south
• 72% of farmers report lost income
Unexploded ordnance and the security situation still keep many farmers off their land.
Water is another pressure. The country’s largest reservoir took in 45 million m³ of water, against an average of 350 million. About half of small-scale farmers lost income to conflict and a long dry spell. South Lebanon and Bekaa have been hit by both drought and damage to water infrastructure.
When there isn’t enough food, children pay the price. Not being able to put food on the table is one of the main reasons parents send children to work, and most of what children earn goes on food.
Hunger isn’t shared equally, either. Mothers are usually the ones who eat less so the family can eat. Households headed by women are more likely to be food insecure. Girls are the first to be married early or kept home.
Invest in income, protection and girls, so no family has to choose between food and a child’s future.
