The United Nations refugee agency on Friday declared the escalating Middle East crisis a major humanitarian emergency, warning that millions of civilians fleeing violence must be guaranteed safe passage.
The announcement comes amid intensifying hostilities that began Feb. 28, when Israel and the U.S. launched coordinated strikes on Iranian targets, including nuclear facilities, missile sites, and key military installations.
The conflict has since spread across the region, drawing in Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting Israeli retaliatory strikes, and creating waves of displacement that threaten to overwhelm already fragile host communities.
Ayaki Ito, UNHCR’s director of emergency programs and cross-regional refugee coordinator, said in a Geneva briefing that recent clashes have displaced hundreds of thousands of families and underscored the urgent need for humanitarian action.
“UNHCR has declared the escalating crisis in the Middle East as a major humanitarian emergency requiring an immediate response across the region,” Ito said. “It is imperative that all civilians who need to move, or cross borders, find safety and safe passage.”
