military forcesfromLebanon. Thoseforceswithdrew fromSaidaon16February. Thefighting whicherupted on18Marchwasinitiated withtheshelling of Einel-Hilweh andMieh Mieh campsbymilitias inth~surrounding hills. Bothcamps suffered extensive damageandtheUNRWAschools closed. UNRWAreports indicated 60refugees werekilledand314werewounded. Some40,000peopleweredisplaced fromtheirhomes. 5~InFebruary, fighting andunrestintheTyrearearesulted intheclosing of mostUNRWAschools inthatregion. Theyreopened on6May. 6.Inmid-March following thekidnapping oftwoBritish subjects, theUnited KiJ19idom Embassy inBeirutadvisedallBritish toleaveunlesstheyhadcompelling reasonstoremain. ActingontheadviceoftheUnitedNations ActingDesignated Official, threeofthefiveBritishstaffmembers oftheUNRWALebanon fieldoffice wer.etransferred tootherdutiesoutside Beirut. Subsequently, on25March, AlecCollett, aBritish journalist working underacontract withUNRWA,was kidnapped byunidentified gunmensouthofBeirut. TheCommissioner-General ordered theremaining British nationals working forUNRWA,inclUding thefieldoffice Director, toleaveLebanon. On15May,theUNRWADeputyDirector inLebanon, an Irishcitizen, wasabducted byarmedmen,hewasreleased 37hourslater. Atthe endofthereporting period, Mr.Collett wasstillbeinghelddespite continuous efforts bytheCommissioner-General andtheSecretary-General tosecurehisrelease 7.On19May,extremely heavyfighting brokeoutonceagainintheBeirutarea. Violent clashes between Amalmilitiamen andpalestine refugees resulted inheavy -1--2-10.Welfare workers continUed toinvestigate newandexisting casesthroughout the reporting period. Theysuffered muchfrustration anddangeringoingabouttheir dutiesbecause oftheprevalent warconditions. 13.Economic problems inLebanon continued toimpactwithparticular severity on refugees. Lossofemployment opportunities wasamajorconcern, andtheAgency continued itsco-operative efforts withtheYoungMen'sChristian Association (YMCA)andtheUnitedNations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization (UNESCO) toalleviate thesituation. TheAgency mayseekadditional financing from Governments andinvitepartnership fromothernon-governmental organizations in specific workschemes. Inresponse totheirowndemands, manyoftheseefforts willbedirected totheneedsandskillsofwomenrefugees. Theeconomic situation11.Thedistribution ofrations tospecial hardship families wasdisrupted inthe Beirutcampswhenfiercefighting brokeouton19Mayandwentonforthreeweeks. Supplies werefinally allowed intothecampsduringthesecondweekofJune. Compl~tely freeaccesstotheBeirutcamps ~asstillnotpossible uptotheendof thereporting period. 12.TheAgencywasabletoassistthousands ofrefugees intheirattempts to obtainorrenewtraveldocuments ~hichareissuedbythehostGovernments. Close co-operation between AgencystaffandGovernment offices helpedtoeasethe difficulties experienced bytherefugees, whicharecreated bytheserious, continuing security problem.9.Inaddition totheemergency measures described above,theAgency's planned reliefoperations werecontinued withgreatdifficulty. Thediscontinuation ofthe emergency rations inMarch1984stillcausesconsternation amongtherefugees, many ofwhomarelivinginextreme hardship, unabletofindsteadyworkandcutofffrom othe~sources ofincome. InTy~etherefugees refused toacceptspecial hardship assistance insupport oftheircontention thatallrefugees shouldbeclassified as special hardship cases. Theybegantoaccepttheassistance againin~~y1985 aftertheIsraeli forceswithdrew. InSaida,thesamerefusal ofrations andother assistance tookplaceinJuly'andAugust1984.AgaininJanuary andFebruary 1985 theSaidaareaandpartofBeqa'asub-area tookpartinasimilar protest, sothat rations wereissuedonlyinBeirutandTripoli areas.B.Reliefmeasureslossesinhumanlives. Therewaswidespread destruction intheShatila and Burjel-Barajneh campsandanestimated tol!.of635deadand2,500wounded. The fighting andthedanger, particularly tothePalestinian staffoftheAgency, prevented manyoftheFieldOfficeareastafffromreaching theirplaceof employment. Nevertheless, theAgencywasabletomakeanemergency distribution of j'.'.'...,...••rations torefugees displaced bythefighting. Itwasalsoabletoprovide some ••food, ~aterandmedical supplies inBurjel-Barajneh duringthefighting. Inthis latteroperation onestaffmemberwaswounded bysniperfire. ,18.UNRWAreliefsupplies tosouthLebanon wereblocked bytheIsr~eli forces from . ItheendofSeptember until17October 1984astheyreacted toincreased attacks
**Analysis**
The text primarily focuses on the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, specifically the plight of refugees and the challenges faced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in providing aid and relief. The text describes the violence, displacement, and loss of life, as well as the agency's efforts to distribute food, medical supplies, and other essential items. The economic situation is also mentioned as a major concern, with refugees struggling to find employment and access basic necessities.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, Health