"A further acceleration of the conflict this weekend underscored the need for an immediate humanitarian response," the Rome-based agency said in a statement, announcing that it was distributing ready-to-eat food rations, bread, hot meals and food parcels to shelters across the country.

Israel on Sunday continued to carry out air strikes on Lebanon, two days after killing the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in bombing raids south of Beirut.

The bombing in Lebanon is "compounding the fragility of a population burdened by accumulated crises", the WFP said.

"In just a few days, WFP assistance has reached thousands of newly displaced people," the programme's country director for Lebanon, Matthew Hollingworth, said in the statement.

"As the crisis deepens, we are preparing to assist up to one million people through a mix of cash and food support," he added, calling on the international community to mobilise $105 million to fund the operation through to the end of the year.

"Lebanon is at a breaking point and cannot endure another war," said WFP regional director Corinne Fleischer.

More than 720 people have been killed in Lebanon since 23 September when Israel intensified its airstrikes around the country forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes in south Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburb known as Dahiyeh.