UN refugee agency says cease-fire 'only way to end nightmare' in Lebanon

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday called for a cease-fire in Lebanon, calling it the "only way to end the nightmare" in the country.

"The needs are immense. They are growing daily, and we need the international community to now rally around the people of Lebanon and to be there for them in their hour of need," UNHCR Director Middle East Rema Jamous Imseis told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

"The only way this nightmare will end is if we have a cease-fire, and that is what the entire world is now hoping will happen in hours and not days," Imseis said optimistically, adding: "Because the people of Lebanon cannot afford it, and the region cannot afford a further spillover escalation of the conflict."

Lotte Ruppert, head of operations in Lebanon for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told about the difficulties they face regarding humanitarian assistance.

Ruppert said the barriers they have faced are different compared to Gaza, adding that one of them is high demand without enough suppliers.

She said the border crossing issue with Syria also causes the usage of a longer route when it comes to land transport.

Another barrier is related to the airport due to "less and less" commercial flights arriving in Beirut, she said, adding: "We have severe concerns that if the airport were to close fully, it would have a big impact on our supply chain."

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,542 people, injuring over 4,555 others, and displacing more than 1.34 million people. It also began a ground invasion earlier this month.

The campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed more than 42,000 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.