Lebanon Food Security Outlook Update: Ongoing insecurity isolating southern areas and eroding food access countrywide, April – September 2026

Country: Lebanon Source: Famine Early Warning System Network Please refer to the attached file. Key Messages Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are expected across South and El-Nabatieh through September 2026, driven by sustained airstrikes, infrastructure destruction, collapsed market functionality, and severely constrained humanitarian access. Only a fraction of shops remain operational and key transport infrastructure is destroyed, leaving supply chains severely disrupted and in-kind food assistance unable to reach increasingly isolated southern populations. While cash assistance is expected to continue, households in the south are largely unable to use it to purchase food due to non-operational markets. In Akkar, Baalbek-El Hermel, Beirut, and parts of Mount Lebanon, Bekaa, and North, Stressed! (IPC Phase 2!) outcomes are expected through May, with a deterioration to Crisis (IPC Phase 3) from June to September. This deterioration reflects the compounding effects of large-scale displacement and reduced income-earning opportunities due to labor market disruptions amid a sharp decline in food assistance after May. Outside of insecurity-affected areas, markets remain largely functional; however, food access is increasingly constrained by elevated food and fuel prices and substantially reduced purchasing power following the recent escalation of hostilities. Income-earning opportunities remain below average countrywide, with tourism and seasonal agricultural labor no longer expected to provide meaningful relief during the summer months. The combined effect of high prices and reduced income is expected to push a growing share of poor and displaced households to increasingly engage in coping mechanisms to meet basic needs. Humanitarian food assistance remains a critical source of food for households in Lebanon. However, assistance is expected to decline sharply starting in June, with no confirmed funding for several key emergency programs beyond May. Amid persistent economic and livelihood constraints, reduced assistance will weaken households’ capacity to mitigate food gaps, particularly among Syrian refugees, displaced populations, and poor Lebanese.

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