Syrians need 'way more' than pledged relief funds, ICRC says

FILE PHOTO: Fabrizio Carboni, Regional Director for the Near and Middle East of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) attends the closing plenary of the fourth meeting of the Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Prisoners' Exchange Agreement in Yemen, in Glion, Switzerland, September 27, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

BEIRUT (Reuters) - War-weary Syrians are in such dire straits that they require "way more than what is possible today," the International Committee of the Red Cross's regional chief said on Thursday as a fundraiser raked in only half the targeted amount.

Humanitarian needs are higher than ever, with the legacy of destruction of the 12-year war compounded by an economic crisis that has sent the Syrian pound tumbling and pushed virtually the entire country below the poverty line.