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Essential medical supplies have reached Lebanon, including 3.5 tonnes of trauma and emergency health items.

The support is urgently needed amid ongoing Israeli bombing of Hezbollah targets and mass evacuation orders impacting whole communities south of the Litani river and southern Beirut.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) says that the supplies will sustain lifesaving services across hospitals, primary health care centres and mobile health units. It’s credited the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid platform (ECHO) for the support.

Since the outbreak of war on 28 February, several unique sites of cultural significance have been damaged in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, alongside immense suffering, displacement and death.

Lebanon is facing a “perfect storm of unpredictable challenges” as conflict, mass displacement and dwindling humanitarian resources converge, the UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, has warned.

The current escalation began on 2 March, when outgoing fire by Hezbollah drew a strong retaliation from Israel. 

The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 New York time (15:00 GMT / 16:00 CET). Senior UN officials from political affairs, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations are expected to brief Council members on recent developments.

The emergency meeting was requested by France, joined by Bahrain, Denmark, Greece, Latvia and the United Kingdom.

A second Council meeting on the broader Middle East crisis is also expected later today at 15:00 New York time (20:00 GMT / 21:00 CET).

As the conflict in the Middle East continues to ripple across the region, the UN Security Council is meeting today to discuss the escalating situation, with a morning briefing focused on Lebanon and a second session later on the wider crisis. Across the UN system, agencies are warning of mounting humanitarian needs as displacement rises, services come under strain and regional instability disrupts mobility, trade and aid operations. Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments, reactions and updates from UN Headquarters and across the region.

Violence in the Middle East is continuing into a fifth day, with US and Israeli strikes against Iran and Iranian missile and drone attacks reported across several countries in the region. The escalating confrontation is disrupting airspace, transport and daily life while raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Follow our live coverage for real-time updates, reactions and humanitarian developments from across the United Nations system.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the key role science has in international governance of artificial intelligence during an event on Friday held on the margins of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India. 

“Guided by science, we can transform AI from a source of uncertainty into a reliable engine for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said. 

Syria’s fragile political transition has gained fresh momentum with a landmark agreement between Damascus and Kurdish authorities in the northeast, but renewed violence in the south, Israeli incursions and deep humanitarian needs underscore how precarious the path to stability remains, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Friday.

AI looks set to be transformative for us all, but it also brings a real risk of job losses and widening social and economic divides. UN experts are focusing on how to manage that transition, to ensure the benefits of the technology outweigh the threats.

Whether you are a “doomer” or a “boomer” on the subject, it’s impossible to ignore AI, which is seeping into every corner of our personal and professional lives.

Since 2026, nearly 17 percent of Lebanon’s population has been living in a state of major food insecurity – a situation that is likely to worsen in the coming year.

According to the latest UN-backed IPC Food Security Phase Classification report, around 874,000 people are facing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity between November 2025 and March 2026.