BEIRUT, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior UN official on Wednesday urged the international community to act immediately to prevent further suffering for people in Lebanon amid the escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

"Resolving this crisis requires concerted influence to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, as well as a robust political-diplomatic process leading to a lasting ceasefire," UN humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza said in a statement.

Highlighting the urgent need for more funds, Riza added, "Last week, we launched a 426-million-U.S. dollar humanitarian appeal to address escalating needs. New pledges are being announced but remain insufficient for the scale of need."

Riza also criticized the attacks against health workers, saying that "the killing of over 100 paramedics, healthcare workers, and public servants impairs Lebanon's emergency response capacity. This must stop."

The start of the school year has been postponed to Nov. 4 as 75 percent of the public educational institutions have been converted into shelters due to the escalation, he noted.

Israel has launched extensive airstrikes across Lebanon targeting what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23. The recent escalation caused great casualties and displaced hundreds of thousands of people across Lebanon.

The total number of deaths has reached 2,141 since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict on Oct. 8, 2023, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported on Wednesday. Enditem

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