Deepening Middle East Conflict Displaces Millions; also Threatening Water and Air Quality 
Emergency Response 13/03/2026 •
A Beirut shelter for displaced Lebanese – across the region an estimated four million have been uprooted from their homes.

The deepening conflict across the Middle East has displaced nearly 3.2 million people in Iran, according to new estimates by UNHCR, as well as nearly 800,000 people in Lebanon, mostly in the southern region, according to a new WHO situation report. 

After the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah entered the war on 2 March firing barrages of rockets at northern Israel, Israel struck back with multiple evacuation orders and intense air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in the country’s southern region, as well as Beirut’s Dahiya quarter, which are still continuing. 

Health services in some 50 clinics and five hospitals in southern Lebanon have been suspended, WHO said, with 25 attacks on Lebanese health care facilities  across the country, leading to 16 deaths, as of 11 March. WHO has verified 18 attacks on health care since 28 February, resulting in 8 deaths among health workers. Over the same period in Lebanon, 25 attacks on health care have resulted in 16 deaths and 29 injuries.  

Israel’s northern region, under almost hourly Hezbollah bombardment since 2 March, has also seen population displacement. Northern and central Israel, targeted by missiles daily, has seen the suspension of all but critical health operations – which have largely moved underground. 

Toxic smoke covers Tehran

Tehran covered by toxic smoke at 8 a.m. on 8 March.

Meanwhile, analysts are increasingly worried about the risk of severe environmental health hazards if the  region’s sensitive water and oil infrastructure is further damaged in the conflict. 

Iran’s capital, Tehran, was covered for two days by a blanket of toxic air pollution last week from after air strikes last week on one of the city’s main oil depots. 

“Petroleum fires and smoke from damaged infrastructure exposed nearby communities to toxic pollutants that potentially cause breathing problems, eye and skin irritation, and contaminated water and food sources,” noted WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office in a situation analysis released on Wednesday, the first since the war began on 28 February with a joint US-Israeli attack on key military and strategic targets that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Water desalination infrastructure threatened

Dubai’s downtown and tourism industry are sustained by dozens of water desalination plants.

Both Iran and Bahrain have seen airstrikes on sensitive water desalination infrastructure over the past week including:  

  • UAE (2-3 March 2026): Damage from an Iranian strike was reported near Doha’s Fujairah F1 power and water complex (UAE), although the plant itself was not damaged. Iranian strikes on Dubai’s Jebel Ali port also reportedly hit close to a massive complex of some 43 desalination units that are key to the city’s drinking water production. 
  • Kuwait (2 March) – At Kuwait’s Doha West plant, falling debris  from an intercepted drone caused a minor fire at its power and water desalination station. 
  • Qeshm Island, Iran (March 7, 2026): Iran accused the U.S. of striking a desalination plant, affecting the water supply for 30 villages.
  • Bahrain (March 8, 2026): Bahrain reported that an Iranian drone attack caused material damage to one of its desalination plants.

The spectre of more such attacks would be a “nightmarish” scenario for both water-stressed Iran as well as Gulf States that depend overwhelmingly on desalination for drinking water supplies, in the words of one Gulf-based media outlet, The Straits Times. 

Occupied Gaza and the West Bank

Some 42,000 Gazans will need prolonged rehabilitation care and support due to war-related trauma injuries and amputations.

In Gaza, medical evacuations for treatment abroad remain suspended since 28 February, while hospitals continue to operate under strain amid ongoing shortages of medicines, medical supplies and fuel, which is being rationed to prioritize essential health services such as emergency and trauma care, maternal and neonatal services, and management of communicable diseases.

In the occupied West Bank,  increased movement restrictions and checkpoint closures are delaying ambulance and mobile clinics’ access across several governorates, WHO reported in its update. Israeli settler extremists have also seized upon the chaos of the war to ramp up attacks on Israeli West Bank settlements. At least six Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of March – five by settlers and one by the Israeli military.

Disruptions to WHO emergency shipments 

The war in Iran has paralyzed the delivery of WHO supplies from Dubai’s international humanitarian hub, the world’s largest.

Temporary airspace restrictions have continued to disrupt the movement of medical supplies from WHO’s global logistics hub in Dubai. More than 50 emergency supply requests, intended to benefit over 1.5 million people across 25 countries, are affected, said WHO in its update.  Current priority shipments include supplies planned for Al Arish, Egypt, to support the Gaza response, as well as Lebanon and Afghanistan. “he first shipment, containing cholera response supplies for Mozambique, is expected to depart from the hub in the coming week.”

Iran’s use of cluster munitions against Israel 

Home in Zarzir, in northern Israel, destroyed by an Iranian missile on Friday.

In its attacks on Israel, Iran has also increasingly resorted to the use of cluster munitions which explode and scatter over many kilometers of civilian areas.

Israelis spending the night in an underground train station to avoid Iranian missiles.

The weapons are largely banned by international law – although neither Israel or Iran have signed the agreement. Nor have the United States, Russia, China and India. 

The scattered bomblets from just one missile have regularly sent millions of Israelis into shelters over the past two weeks since the war began, as well as causing widespread destruction or damage to homes, transport arteries – as well as a number of deaths. 

The documented use of cluster munitions by Iran, as well as other impacts of the war on civilian targets and healthcare operations in Israel, Cyprus, Turkey or other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region are not included in the regional assessment by WHO’s EMRO regional office – because they are all members of the WHO’s European Region. 

WHO Emergency Assessments – a regional or HQ product?

When asked why WHO assessments on the ongoing Gulf War, as well as other cross-regional  events, are published solely by the EMRO region – rather than one from Headquarters, which could provide a more inclusive,. cross-regional perspective, a WHO spokesperson said that typically WHO emergency situation assessments are published by WHO’s regional offices because they are closer to the emergency at hand. 

However, that’s not always the case. For instance, African emergency issues are typically published on the WHO Headquarters Emergency site – rather than the African regional site – such as this January update on the health and humanitarian crisis triggered by the war in Sudan. 

Over the past two weeks of war, there have been over 1,885 deaths from the war according to WHO.

“The situation is terrible for the whole region and civilians are the ones suffering the most, including in the health sector,” the WHO spokesperson said.  

Image Credits: https://x.com/HananBalkhy/status/2032121759814517168/photo/1, X/Mohamed Safa@mhdksafa, Dubai Economy and Tourism Bureau., WHO/EMRO , Dubai Humanitarian , X/AP/Ariel Schalit/Times of Israel, Instagram/AFP .

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