UN aid agencies are now warning of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with food supplies likely to be interrupted and prices likely to rise because of the damage to the port, he BBC reports.
A spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Geneva said Lebanon imported 85% of its food.
The WFP is sending 5,000 food parcels to Lebanon, each designed to support a family of five for one month.
The World Health Organization said that Lebanon’s already fragile health system had been seriously damaged, with three hospitals virtually destroyed by the blast.
The WHO is now sending 1,000 trauma kits to support treatment of the most serious injuries and burns.
However, 17 containers of personal protective equipment, stored in a WHO warehouse in Beirut and intended to support Lebanon’s fight against Covid-19, were destroyed in the explosion.
Armenia has said it will send three planes with humanitarian aid to Beirut. the First flight s scheduled for August 8.
The death toll from Tuesday’s explosion has risen to 154, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) quoted the health minister as saying.
About 120 people remain in critical condition. Many of them require complex surgery after being injured by glass shards, Minister of Public Health Hamad Hassan said.
