Between Conflict and Uncertainty, the UN Works to Protect Civilians in Lebanon

From his desk in central Beirut, the United Nations’ top official in Lebanon – Imran Riza, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator – could hear the escalation. Rather than leave, he and his team stayed at their posts, in the field and on the phones, ensuring aid reached civilians caught in the crosshairs of war.

"Over a million people are displaced and many unsheltered right now,” Riza said. “And I’m afraid we might be having a lot more.”

The displacement orders typically come at night – posted online, then spread rapidly through WhatsApp, social media and word of mouth. Sometimes entire districts are told to leave shortly before the strikes hit.

“It’s not just the south anymore,” Riza said. “Central Beirut has been targeted.”

Nearly a fifth of the country has been displaced. Roughly 14 percent of Lebanon is under evacuation orders. Families move from place to place with little certainty about where they will land next. Many sleep along the seafront, while others refuse to leave altogether.

Nearly a fifth of the country has been displaced. Roughly 14 percent of Lebanon is under evacuation orders.

“They want to stay close to their homes because they’re concerned they won’t be able to return to them,” he said.

A Country on the Move

That fear is rooted in memories of past conflicts and returns that took years, if they came at all. Many residents worry that if the situation becomes entrenched, reversing it could be extremely difficult.

Children bear the brunt. 

More than 400,000 children have been displaced in Lebanon, part of a regional crisis in which at least 87 children are forced from their homes daily.

Across the country, 635 shelters have been opened, stretching a system already weakened by years of economic collapse. Education has been severely disrupted, as public schools and the national public university are now being used as collective shelters, interrupting learning for thousands of students whose futures grow more uncertain each day.

At the same time, civilians are navigating a fractured information environment. Displacement orders circulate alongside official statements and various political messages. Mis- and disinformation runs throughout. For many, it is no longer clear who to trust or where safety lies.

A Rare Political Opening

And yet, beneath the violence, something remarkable is taking shape: for the first time in decades, the Lebanese state is genuinely attempting to reclaim authority from Hezbollah.

“The cabinet declared Hezbollah’s military wing unlawful,” said a senior Lebanese government official. “That’s a decision that has never been taken before.”

Legislation banning the Iranian-backed group occurred just 24 hours before the war began. The move, paired with a government aligning more closely with the United States and Europe, signals a shift that would have been unthinkable even a year ago. It also follows the emergence of new leadership under the presidency of Joseph Aoun, determined to reassert state control after decades of parallel power structures.

It also comes amid a rare geopolitical opening. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria has disrupted the corridor that once funneled weapons and money from Tehran through Damascus into southern Lebanon.

“Things have become more conducive to change,” the government official said.

On paper, the conditions for state consolidation have improved. In reality, the window is narrowing.

“They wanted us to deliver faster,” the government official said of Washington. “That’s not possible; this is a huge legacy to untangle.”

That legacy includes Hezbollah’s entrenched power, a collapsed banking system and hollowed-out state infrastructure. The result is an impossible paradox: alignment with American objectives, without the ability to achieve them on the accelerated timeline expected.

The UN’s Four Fronts

From where Riza sits at the UN, he breaks the crisis down into four urgent concerns.

First, de-escalation — “That doesn’t seem imminent,” he remarked, acknowledging the political will of all parties that a cessation of hostilities demands.

The respect for international law and protection of civilians — “This is huge, the most important priority,” he said, as children and healthcare workers are killed at record numbers and medical facilities struck.

Humanitarian access — increasingly fragile, dependent on coordination that does not always hold.

“We need parties to the conflict to ensure our safe access,” Riza said. “Safe humanitarian access should be ensured under international law, because parties to the conflict are obligated not to target humanitarian sites.” He added, “That’s not always the case.”

“We need parties to the conflict to ensure our safe access. That’s not always the case.”

And funding.

Following a visit by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on March 13, the UN launched a $308 million flash appeal for three months. Even that, Riza said, is unlikely to be enough.

“We’re going to have to be revising upwards.”

Meanwhile, along the southern border, UN peacekeepers continue to operate under growing strain. The mandate for UNIFIL is set to expire in December 2026, raising difficult questions about what happens next.

Grounded by the People

Still, moments of reassurance cut through the chaos.

Riza remembers meeting a displaced woman in a shelter.

“She said, ‘Look at me. I’m wearing the same pajamas I had on when I fled here in the middle of the night… but I’m safe. I’ve got my family.’ And then she said, ‘What I want now from you is to help me with some cooking utensils so that I can cook for everyone here, because I’m a really good cook.”

Riza offered his first genuine smile of the conversation when he added, “You see the strength of people.”

A Message for Washington

Resilience, however, is not a strategy.

As the same government official explained, Lebanon is attempting to unwind decades of dual power structures in a matter of months, while managing a war it does not control.

“We are trying to reverse 45 years,” the government official said. “The expectations are enormous.”

For Washington, the implications are equally significant.

The U.S. now has a partner in Beirut more aligned with its objectives than at any point in recent memory. But alignment without capacity risks failure — and failure risks reinforcing the very actors the strategy is meant to weaken.

From Beirut, that effort is already underway.

And people like Imran Riza are there at that center of it, coordinating under fire to ensure civilians are protected.

Disclaimer: This article was originally published by the Better World Campaign (BWC), written by Liz Metraux and BWC, and is republished here with permission.