The warning came as Israeli authorities issued new displacement orders for 16 areas south of the Litani River, instructing residents to move toward the nearby city of Saida, adding further pressure on already strained communities and humanitarian operations.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said civilians continued to bear the brunt of the hostilities, with women and children disproportionately affected by displacement, overcrowded shelters and worsening living conditions.

He said reports indicated rising levels of psychological distress, family separation and increased risks of gender-based violence, particularly in temporary shelters where access to protection services remains limited.

“We and our partners are responding to the mounting needs where access allows,” Dujarric told reporters, while noting that humanitarian operations remain constrained by insecurity and restricted access in several affected areas.

A new joint analysis by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme found that a sharp escalation in violence had reversed earlier food-security improvements and pushed Lebanon back into a crisis phase.

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment, around 1.24 million people nearly one in four of those surveyed — are projected to face IPC Phase 3, or crisis-level, food insecurity or worse during the April-to-August period.

At that level, households are typically forced to adopt severe coping strategies such as skipping meals, reducing food quality or selling essential assets to afford basic supplies.

Lebanon has been grappling with overlapping economic, political and security crises for years, with inflation, currency collapse and weakened state institutions already undermining access to food and public services before the latest surge in violence.

Humanitarian agencies also warned that funding shortfalls were limiting relief efforts. The Lebanon Flash Appeal has received just over $117 million so far, only 38% of the $308 million required to meet urgent needs, according to U.N. figures.

Dujarric said that without immediate additional funding and improved humanitarian access, conditions were likely to deteriorate further, leaving more families exposed to hunger, displacement and prolonged hardship.

The Saudi embassy in Beirut said the advisory was issued due to the “repercussions of the current events,” noting that a travel ban to Lebanon had already been in place for several years.

The warning comes as Israeli forces deploy thousands of troops into southern Lebanon, aiming to secure territory up to the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border.

Since March 2, more than one million people have been displaced across Lebanon, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Around 136,000 are sheltering in approximately 660 collective sites, many of them overcrowded schools with limited sanitation access.

UNHCR representative Karolina Lindholm Billing said the situation on the ground was “extremely worrying,” warning of a real risk of humanitarian catastrophe if the conflict continues.

“Lebanon was already facing multiple crises, and this massive displacement is adding immense pressure,” she said, adding that affected civilians repeatedly expressed a desire to return home.

The UN refugee agency has appealed for more than $60 million to scale up its response, but officials say needs are rising faster than available funding as displacement accelerates.

The developments underscore mounting regional fallout from the conflict, with foreign governments increasingly issuing advisories to protect their citizens amid deteriorating security conditions.