Thousands have been killed, injured across Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Gulf- Jan Egeland

Jan Egeland, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Secretary General has decried the one month of spiralling conflict in the Middle East.

Egeland noted that thousands have been killed or injured across Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Gulf with millions of people  forced to leave their homes.

Read the full statement below:

“Political and military elites behind a month of escalating war across the Middle East have not understood that tens of millions of civilians across the region bear the brunt of violence, displacement and destruction. We urgently need an end to this conflict.

“Millions of people in Iran and Lebanon have fled their homes. Thousands have been killed or injured across Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Gulf, with people in more than a dozen countries still facing threats from direct attack or falling debris. Attacks destroying energy facilities and other critical civilian infrastructure rob electricity, water, healthcare, and heating from millions that already faced extreme hardships.

“The impact of this war is now ricocheting around the world. The inflating cost of fuel and goods is already starting to challenge humanitarian responses from Mozambique to Myanmar and beyond. 

“Our NRC teams in Iran and in Lebanon are witnessing desperation, death and destruction. We are urgently scaling up our response for families impacted by this war. In Iran we provide displaced families with cash and in Lebanon we support people in collective shelters with essential items, including blankets and mattresses. We are also improving these shelters – almost all of them repurposed schools – to ensure better water and sanitation conditions. But with limited funding available this is more difficult than ever. We call on donors to step up their support today and enable us to continue to deliver at this critical moment.

“Just a small fraction of the billions of dollars spent on this war could fund life-saving support to millions now in need. In Lebanon alone, the humanitarian needs of families affected by the current escalation could be met with the spending on just eight hours of this conflict.

“All parties in this conflict must urgently de-escalate, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and energy plants, respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, and allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access.”