OCHA Situation Report No. 19
Lebanon
12 August 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Humanitarian convoys heading south

WFP and UNFPA trucks left for Nabatiye and Saida today with IDF 
concurrence. Nabatiye is the closest distribution location for the 
inaccessible populations south of the Litani River. However, concurrence 
was not received, for the fifth consecutive day, for humanitarian 
convoys to Tyre and south of the city.

UN to expand presence outside Beirut, Tyre

The UN intends to open inter-agency hubs in Saida and Zahle in addition 
to coordination centers in the capital and Tyre. A small UN team is now 
in Saida to start implementing this plan. Zahle will open in the next 
few days. All major north-south supply lines remain interrupted north of 
Tyre, which de facto isolates the south of Lebanon from the rest of the 
country. UNIFIL reports that the damage to road and bridges 
infrastructure increases daily.

Infrastructure damage estimated at two billion USD

The GoL estimates damage and destruction of housing, industry, power and 
utilities due to the last month's hostilities has now reached US$ 2 
billion.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

1. According to the Government of Lebanon (GoL) Higher Relief Committee 
(HRC) the number of casualties now stands at 1,056 people killed. It 
estimates that some 971,361 Lebanese have been displaced, inside and 
outside the country.

2. Protection, access and security remain the foremost issues of 
concern.. UNICEF warned in a press statement released yesterday that 
thousands of families and children critically need support, but at 
present it is unable to reach the majority of them.  ICRC President 
Jakob Kellenberger also criticized the 'little consideration given to 
[civilians'] protection' by the warring parties.

3. UNRWA estimates that some 16,000 Palestinian refugees have been 
displaced by the conflict and an additional 5,500 Lebanese IDPs have 
moved into Palestinian camps. After drops of warning leaflets on the 
Burj Barajneh camp in southern Beirut, around a third of the camp 
population - up to 3,000 people - evacuated the camp yesterday evening.

4. The UN currently has 187 international civilian staff in Lebanon. 
Until today, only limited UN deployment south of the Litani River has 
taken place.

5. The fuel crisis may be eased soon - negotiations to bring fuel into 
Lebanon from the two tankers currently in open waters are nearing 
completion.

6. Four mortar rounds impacted directly inside a UNIFIL position in the 
area of Deir Mimess on 10 August, causing extensive material damage, and 
destroying a fuel storage tank, but with no casualties.

7. This morning unidentified gunmen fired at an armored personnel 
carrier (APC) of UNIFIL. Nobody was injured in the incident and the 
vehicle sustained only minor damage. A convoy passing the same area 
later in the day was not attacked.

8. UNIFIL's freedom of movement and the ability to re-supply positions 
and provide humanitarian assistance continues to be impaired due to the 
lack of security clearance from the IDF and due to the intense 
hostilities in the area.

9. Many national and international NGOs are responding to the Lebanon 
crisis, particularly those under the two umbrella groups Collective of 
NGOs and the Forum of NGOs. Coordination efforts are improved with 
representatives of these two groups now participating in the 
Humanitarian Coordination Clusters.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Logistics

10. For the fifth consecutive day, concurrence was not received for 
humanitarian convoys to Tyre or south of the city. Concurrence was 
instead received today for convoys from Beirut to Aarida (collection of 
cargo and in/out movement of staff), Saida (cargo), Nabatiyeh (cargo and 
road assessment), Tripoli (road assessment and cargo) and Baalbek (cargo 
and road assessment).



|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|Upcoming |                 |                   |
|Logistics|                 |                   |
|Movement |                 |                   |
| (Land)  |                 |                   |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|  Date   |   Destination   |     Comments      |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|12-Aug   |Rmeish/Debel     |4 trucks for UNICEF|
|         |                 |(return next day)  |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Rmeish/Debel/Tyre|Staff; road        |
|         |                 |Assessment (return |
|         |                 |next day)          |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Tyre             |7 trucks for WFP, 1|
|         |                 |truck for UNFPA and|
|         |                 |WHO, 1 truck for   |
|         |                 |HEB WFP/NPA        |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Baalbek          |11 trucks for WFP, |
|         |                 |1 truck for UNFPA  |
|         |                 |(via Zahle on      |
|         |                 |return)            |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Baalbek          |Staff ; road       |
|         |                 |assessment         |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |                 |                   |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |                 |                   |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |                 |                   |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Tripoli          |3 x 40 MT trucks   |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Aarida           |Staff              |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|         |Aarida           |Cargo              |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|
|13-Aug   |Jbeil            |4 WFP trucks (Jbeil|
|         |                 |City), 4 WFP       |
|         |                 |(Almat)            |
|---------+-----------------+-------------------|



|---------+------------+-------------------|
|Upcoming |            |                   |
|Logistics|            |                   |
|Movement |            |                   |
|  (Sea)  |            |                   |
|---------+------------+-------------------|
|  Date   |Destination |     Comments      |
|---------+------------+-------------------|
|   TBC   |   Beirut   |   Ex-Mersin: No   |
|         |            |      update       |
|---------+------------+-------------------|
|   TBC   |   Beirut   |  Ex-Larnaca: No   |
|         |            |      update       |
|---------+------------+-------------------|



11. UNIFIL will use the French ship Sirocco to evacuate up to 18 Third 
Country Nationals stranded in villages near Naqoura today.

Health/Nutrition

12. The Health cluster has now set up sub-groups on Health Systems, 
Mental health, Nutrition, Reproductive Health, and Health Information 
management: Health cluster meetings are taking place twice a week in 
Beirut.

13. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), WHO and UNICEF measles and 
polio vaccination campaign is being expanded, to cover a total of 
100,000 children in Beirut (originally it was aimed at some 65,000 
children); vitamin A is also being given to boost vulnerable immune 
systems.

14. A rapid assessment is currently being undertaken by UNFPA in 
Beirut/greater Beirut IDP sites of the needs and issues affecting 
pregnant and lactating women. This will clarify the number of pregnant 
women in IDP sites and problems related to supplement deficiency (i.e. 
iron, folic acid, etc), and RTI symptoms.

15. Syria:  the latest figures for the Ministry of Health campaign 
vaccination coverage up to 9 August are: OPV coverage of under 5s 
(97.4%); MMR coverage of 10-59 months (85.6%); Meningitis coverage of 
24-59 months (88.7%)' Measles coverage of 6-15 years (86.2%).

Food

16. UNRWA has so far provided assistance to around 80,000 people, both 
Palestinian and Lebanese. With the assistance of other UN agencies, this 
has included food and water and non-food items like bedding, kitchen and 
hygiene kits and medicines to the displaced. Food aid is also being 
provided to non-displaced Palestinian refugees across the country, many 
of whom were living in extreme poverty before the start of the conflict 
and are especially vulnerable to the current economic shocks.

Shelter/Non Food Items

17. UNHCR has distributed non-food items (NFIs) to over 25,000 displaced 
persons in Lebanon and Syria. Over 730 metric tons of NFIs have been 
delivered to Damascus from Amman to replenish stocks for Lebanon and 
Syria.

18. A total of 116 tons of UNHCR supplies flown in to Larnaca on three 
flights today will be transferred to a UN ship bound for Beirut on 
Sunday. An additional 71 tons of emergency supplies (tents, mattresses, 
jerry cans, cooking stoves and hurricane lanterns) were flown to Beirut 
from Amman, by the Royal Jordanian Airforce . Some 8,400 mattresses, 
30,000 blankets, 15,000 jerry cans, 1,00 plastic rolls, 3,000 kitchen 
sets and five delivery trucks were set to leave for Lebanon via the 
ports of Marseilles and Mersin today.

Water and Sanitation

19. Hygiene kits have been distributed to 3,340 families in IDP centers 
and conflict zones - in Saida, Zahle, and Baalbek, reaching some 21,000 
beneficiaries altogether.  The convoy bound for Nabatiyeh today should 
deliver UNFPA kits serving around 7,000 persons in the worst-affected 
villages and towns in South Lebanon.

20. Additional kits are being distributed through NGOs such as Mercy 
Malaysia, IMC, and IOCC Lebanon, which are covering areas in northern 
Lebanon and the Beirut suburbs.  More kits have been procured and should 
be distributed within the next two weeks to IDP communities.

21. Syria:  Key water and sanitation (WES) data from recent site 
assessments reports the following: water from the public network is 
available in 81% of sites; personal hygiene supplies were available in 
89% of sites; Garbage collection and disposal system is operational in 
91% of POC shelter sites.

22. Syria: longer term response plans in this sector include 
rehabilitation of sanitation facilities, installation of water heaters, 
and water trucking in the event of any shortages, reports UNICEF.

Protection

23. An action plan is being developed to deal with protection of women. 
Some 30 national and international partners are working with the 
Ministry of Social Affairs and UNFPA to address cases of gender-based 
violence (GBV) among IDPs. Preventive measures, awareness-raising, and 
training of service providers are needed to ensure availability of 
services to vulnerable groups and victims of violence.


FUNDING

Flash Appeal

24. OCHA's Financial Tracking Service (FTS) today reports that the US 
$154 million Flash Appeal for Lebanon is now 46% funded. Contributions 
of more than US $76. million have been committed. Uncommitted pledges 
amount to an additional US $12.5 million..

Full details can be found on the FTS on http://www.reliefweb.int/fts.

Contact Details:

Desk Officers:
  NYC - Mr. Carlos Monteiro-Pereira, Tel: +1-212-963-4639
  NYC - Mr. Ben Negus, Tel: +1-917-367-4374
  NYC - Ms. Heidi Kuttab, Tel: +1-917-367-3365

Press contact:
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Tel: +1-917-367-5126


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