BEIRUT, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, called on Sunday for greater international support to stem the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Lebanon.
"I've witnessed today the tragic toll this war is taking on entire communities," said Grandi in a statement.
"International humanitarian law must be respected and cannot be ignored. Families have been left homeless, stranded in the open air with traumatized children unable to understand what's happening," he said.
"It is an urgent moral imperative to help the people affected by this recent escalation. They should not pay the price for the abysmal failure to find political solutions and end this vicious cycle of violence. Now, in this hour of overwhelming need, the world must come to Lebanon's aid," stressed the statement.
According to the statement, Grandi was visiting Beirut to express his solidarity with Lebanon and to mobilize more support for those affected, both Lebanese and refugees.
The government has secured over 800 shelters for the displaced people so far, and UNHCR is working with humanitarian partners and local authorities to urgently find more shelters for the homeless, said the statement.
It added that UNHCR has launched a 111 million U.S. dollars appeal to assist 1 million displaced people in Lebanon through the end of 2024.
