Developing story
MSF responds to escalating conflict in the Middle East
Civilians, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure must be protected at all times.
Urgent
Attacks on Lebanon continue less than 10 hours after ceasefire
April 8, 2026 — Less than 10 hours after the announcement of a regional ceasefire to the Middle East escalation of conflict, Israeli forces conducted a large-scale attack across Lebanon, with airstrikes hitting multiple locations, including major cities. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are responding to mass influxes of injured patients, including children, at Rafik Hariri Public Hospital in Beirut.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is alarmed by the dramatic escalation in conflict across the Middle East and beyond.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a major military assault on Iran, including airstrikes on the capital, Tehran, and other cities. Iran and Iranian-backed armed groups have responded with a wave of attacks aimed at Israel and Gulf countries, as well as US military and diplomatic targets in the region. The conflict has now spread even wider.
Across the region, the escalation in violence has brought fear to the lives of millions of people. Bombing continues across multiple cities and villages — often hitting densely populated areas — and casualties are mounting. Civilians, hospitals, health facilities, and other essential infrastructure must be protected at all times.
At a glance: MSF’s work in the Middle East
- In Lebanon, MSF has donated 10,000+ blankets, 9,000+ mattresses, and 7,000+ hygiene kits. MSF teams are also providing medical and sexual and reproductive health consultations, mental health care, and distributing water.
- In Iran, MSF has donated 50,000 hygiene items, including washing powder and feminine hygiene products, as well as 5,000 blankets, 4,000 pillows, and two e-prep kits (for mass casualties and light wounds) covering 500 patients.
- In Gaza, Palestine, MSF teams provided a daily average of 2,475 consultations, admitted 151 new patients, and carried out 44 surgeries each day in March 2025.
Regional tensions are creating an increasingly volatile and difficult environment for MSF to carry out medical operations across Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria, at varying levels. Overall, airspace closures and heightened security risks are restricting staff movement, delaying medical evacuations, and disrupting activities.
At the same time, instability around the Strait of Hormuz is placing additional strain on logistics and supply routes. These developments are already affecting supply chains, increasing the risk of shortages of critical medical supplies, driving up fuel prices, and complicating both air and sea transport.
MSF is adapting its programs to respond and is closely monitoring the rapidly evolving humanitarian needs. To mitigate the impact of disruptions, supply routes have been redirected through alternative channels to ensure the continuity of medical activities. Since February 28, MSF has shipped 42 tons of medical supplies for projects in the Middle East.
Lebanon
Lebanon is one of the countries that has been most affected by this escalation.
Since March 2, civilians have faced increasingly dire conditions. More than 1 million people have been forced from their homes and disrupted their access to health care. Families have been forced to flee repeatedly, often with nowhere safe to go. Many are stranded in the streets or trapped in their towns.
Between March 2 and 23, 1,039 people were killed in Lebanon, 12 percent of whom were children.
How MSF is helping in Lebanon
MSF has launched a nationwide emergency response, while adapting rapidly to ensure continuity of care in existing projects. Our current activities include:
- Distributing essential relief items such as hygiene kits, blankets, and drinking water
- Operating 15 mobile clinics across the country, providing primary health care, medications for non-communicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health services, and mental health support
- Support for primary health care centers
- Donations of fuel and medical supplies to hospitals, as well as food parcels for hospital staff in areas affected by the conflict
- Mental health helplines to support distressed people in remote or hard-to-access areas
In addition to these activities, we have been in touch with civil defense groups to donate first responder kits, including body bags.
The escalation in Lebanon comes after 15 months of a so-called ceasefire that never translated into real safety for civilians, as Israeli attacks and incursions continued throughout this period. For many people in southern Lebanon and other areas of the country, evacuation orders mean reliving the trauma of displacement all over again.
“Families who were slowly beginning to recover from previous fighting are being told to leave their homes,” said Francesca Quinto, MSF program manager. “Some have been stranded on the roads with children, elderly relatives, and sick family members, facing extremely harsh conditions.”
Displaced people urgently need safe shelter, water, essential relief items, and access to health care, including emergency care and psychosocial support. Shelters are overwhelmed and ill-equipped to host displaced communities, while people living in public squares or abandoned buildings are often left without the support they need.
Lebanon update
Massive displacement amid relentless bombing
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While the escalation is affecting a vast portion of Lebanon’s population, minority groups such as refugees, migrant workers, and other noncitizens are at risk of facing even more discrimination and exclusion from the humanitarian response, reducing their access to health care and humanitarian assistance. People with specific vulnerabilities, such as the elderly and those living with disabilities and chronic illnesses, face difficulties accessing medication. Risks like sexual and gender-based violence are a major concern in crowded shelters, especially for women and girls.
MSF calls for the immediate protection of civilians, health care and humanitarian workers, and medical facilities, and for the respect of international humanitarian law. Emergency and flexible funding must be mobilized to scale up the response to the urgent needs of displaced people and host communities alike. The health system in Lebanon is already strained, with limited access to supplies.
Throughout 2024 and into 2025, MSF worked across seven locations nationwide, with nearly 400 staff delivering free medical care, including care for chronic conditions, reproductive and pediatric health, and mental health services. Our work included support for primary health care centers, operating mobile medical teams to reach underserved and affected areas, and distributing essential relief items to displaced and returning families.
MSF response in Lebanon
By the numbers
• 6,826 medical consultations
• 1,298 sexual and reproductive health consultations
• 939 group and individual mental health and psychological first aid sessions
• 10,853+ blankets and 9,315+ mattresses distributed
• 7,879+ hygiene kits provided
• 20,000+ gallons of drinking water distributed
• 660,000+ gallons of water trucked to shelters
Iran
Before the escalation on February 28, MSF had been running three projects in Iran, providing essential health care to marginalized people, including Afghan refugees and other vulnerable populations. We were conducting 6,000 medical consultations per month, as well as midwifery care, infectious disease screening and treatment, and mental health support.
While the airstrikes and communication blackout have created operational challenges, MSF has been able to continue some activities.
Our clinic in Tehran closed temporarily due to heavy bombing, but is expected to reopen as a more specialized clinic after the government granted authorization to strengthen support for local health systems responding to conflict-related needs in mid-March. MSF has already provided initial donations of medical supplies and stands ready to further increase our support as needs evolve.
Palestine
Our teams in Gaza and the West Bank continue to address the significant medical and mental health needs on the ground.
In Gaza, we have been providing vital services in approximately 20 health facilities and medical points across the Strip. We treat people injured by explosives, provide care for malnourished children, and offer services for people with chronic diseases.
Learn more about how we're responding in Gaza >
In the West Bank, our operations have been concentrated in Nablus, Qalqiliya, Tubas, Hebron, Jenin, and Tulkarem. We have been providing mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and general health care through mobile clinics, as well as support for water and sanitation in refugee camps.
Even before this regional escalation of conflict, MSF had been struggling to get staff and supplies into Palestine, including surgical equipment, antibiotics and pain medications, and sterile gauze for war wounds.
Iraq
MSF has medical supplies available to be deployed in Iraq if needed.
We speak out. Get updates.
Voices from Lebanon: Displaced under fire
MSF staff and patients share how the escalation of conflict in the Middle East has impacted their lives amid mass displacement and ongoing Israeli bombardment.
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