"Humanitarian action is based on access, and access is always very limited when a conflict is still going on," Guterres told reporters on a visit to war-scarred Sri Lanka. "For our action, to have an end of the hostilities is of extreme importance."

"It is still a very limited access," he added. "This is a very dramatic humanitarian problem if you compare with other situations, especially taking into consideration the speed of this displacement process."

An estimated 750,000 people have fled their homes in Lebanon in the face of Israeli bombing raids. Guterres said around 200,000 people have left the country." [Full story]