ISLAMABAD: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday declared the escalating conflict in the Middle East a “major humanitarian emergency” and urged that civilians fleeing violence be granted safe passage.
Addressing a press briefing in Geneva, UNHCR emergency chief Ayaki Ito said the crisis, which began after strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran last week, has triggered large-scale displacement across the region.
He said the recent escalation in hostilities had forced significant numbers of people to leave their homes, while clashes along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border had also displaced thousands of families.
Ito noted that the affected regions already host nearly 25 million people who are refugees, internally displaced persons or recently returned migrants.
He said UNHCR was working to deliver life-saving assistance across the region and stressed the importance of ensuring that civilians seeking to move or cross borders could do so safely.
Funding shortages
In an emergency update, UNHCR said it required about $454 million in 2026 to support displaced populations linked to the Afghanistan situation in South-West Asia.
However, as of the end of February, only about 15 percent of the required funding had been received. The agency said funding gaps were particularly severe in Iran and Afghanistan, where humanitarian needs remain high due to economic pressures and instability.
According to the update, Iran currently hosts more than 1.65 million refugees and others in need of international protection. Since the start of the conflict, around 100,000 people have reportedly left Tehran, although the actual number could be significantly higher.
Afghan returns and border concerns
The agency said that since the beginning of 2025, more than 2.9 million Afghans had returned to their country, most from Iran and Pakistan.
UNHCR offices in Afghanistan and Pakistan are preparing for a possible surge in returnees if the Torkham Border Crossing reopens, with contingency plans estimating up to 10,000 to 15,000 returns per day during the first three weeks.
Aid routes disrupted
Aid officials also warned that key humanitarian supply routes by air, sea and land were being disrupted due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The conflict has affected global shipping and aviation routes, including disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, delaying shipments of relief supplies to crisis zones such as Gaza Strip and Sudan.
Jean-Martin Bauer of the World Food Programme said the disruption could delay food deliveries to millions of people facing hunger crises.
The International Organization for Migration also reported that relief supplies such as tents and other equipment intended for the occupied Palestinian territories were stuck in disrupted supply chains.
Aid organisations say rising transport costs are further straining humanitarian budgets, with shipping companies reportedly demanding emergency surcharges of around $3,000 per container.
WHO supplies delayed
Meanwhile, World Health Organization regional director Hanan Balkhy said the agency’s global health emergencies logistics hub in Dubai had resumed operations after a temporary pause caused by the conflict.
However, WHO earlier warned that laboratory supplies worth $1.6 million for polio surveillance had been delayed, which could impact vaccination and monitoring programmes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two countries where polio remains endemic.