Middle East Regional Coordination Meeting Minutes, 23 April 2026

Content

1. Situation Update 

The ceasefire which was announced on 8 April 2026 has been extended for an unspecified period of time. Ocean freight through the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted as carriers maintain a cautious approach with no service changes at this time. In early April, approzimately 2,000 vessels were idle in the Persian Gulf; approximately 870 vessels remain stranded. As of 20 April, transit through the Strait has decreased to approximately 3 vessels (representing the lowest transit level since the start of the blockade). 

PORT ACCESS 

• Ports in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, the Red Sea, and western Saudi Arabia are operational and accessible​. 
• Gulf Ports in the UAE, Kuwait, Iran, eastern Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are operational, but access is constrained due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS 

• There have been no major operational changes to airspace restrictions in the Middle East region.  
• Many restrictions and heightened clearance requirements remain in place, complicating air travel and air cargo shipments. 
• Qatar Airways and Emirates are now operating to more destinations in the region, increasing passenger and cargo operations. 
• UNHAS operations in Syria have resumed as of 13 April.  

FUEL 

Brent crude oil rose to 103.02 USD/barrel on 23 April. 

2.  LogIE Tutorial 

• Partners are reminded to sign up for the upcoming LogIE tutorial on 28 April at 14:00 (Cairo time). Partners are encouraged to share the invitation widely within their organisations. The tutorial will demonstrate all basic uses of the LogIE platform, how to extract static maps for organizational use, and how to share information with the Logistics Cluster by inputting directly into LogIE. 
• Partners can contact middleeastcrisis.logscoord@wfp.org for more information or guidance on using LogIE. 
• Support for the production of static maps is available: middleeastcrisis.logscoord@wfp.org 

3.  Country Cluster Update: Lebanon 

• Beirut Airport: Middle East Airlines (MEA) continues to operate with a limited schedule; Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways have initiated flights. 
• The coverage area of the Humanitarian Notification System (HNS) has changed: geographic coverage is maintained south of the Litani River and southern suburbs of Beirut. Reach out to lebanon.ltclogs@wfp.org for additional information on the HNS. 
• DG ECHO is initiating a European Union Humanitarian Airbridge (EUHAB) consultation for a flight from Europe to Beirut. Partners are asked to share their cargo transportation needs on Transport by Hulo no later than Monday, 27 April, close of business; contact euhab@hulo.coop for more information. Two previous EUHABs are fully booked; the estimated arrival times are 23 April and 9 May. 
• Partners are asked to participate in the Jordan-Lebanon Corridor Planning survey to enable the Logistics & Telecommunications Cluster (LTC) to collect partners’ pipeline information and plans ​for cargo to be transported from Jordan to Lebanon. Partners are asked to share information on both their immediate needs and their anticipated needs within the next three months, as LTC services are informed by feedback received from partners. 
• A government to government relief corridor is being opened between Jordan (Amman) and Lebanon. Partners wishing to utilise this corridor movement should reach out to the Lebanon LTC to express their interest: lebanon.ltclogs@wfp.org 
• The Lebanon LTC is assessing and planning its role and involvement in the coordination of these convoy movements. 
• Partners are asked to input all Jordan – Lebanon transport plans into the Jordan-Lebanon Corridor Planning survey, even if their organisation does not intend to make use of these convoys. 
• Lebanon LTC storage is available in Beirut (Karantina) and Bekaa (Zahle). 
• Convoys to delivery points within Lebanon are coordinated by the Lebanon LTC on weekly basis (based on need and clearances). 

4.  Country Cluster Update: Afghanistan 

• Diesel fuel prices from LTAs have increased by 72% since the crisis began, significantly affecting humanitarian transport costs. Diesel prices on the local market have increased by 20%. 
• WFP is currently trialing several additional routes, and will provide more information on lead times once the trials are completed:  
• UAE → Saudi Arabia → Jordan → Syria → Turkey → Lapis Lazuli corridor → Afghanistan.​Initial consignments have arrived in Mersin; they are expected to arrive in Afghanistan in early May. 
• Mersin → Iran → Afghanistan​. The trial is scheduled to begin next week. The estimated lead time is 4 weeks​. 
• Belgium → Poti, Georgia → Lapis Lazuli corridor → Torghundi, Afghanistan​.  
• Turkey → Lapis Lazuli corridor → Afghanistan​.  
• The humanitarian supply chain in Afghanistan is facing unprecedented pressure due to the prolonged closure of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border of more than 6 months, compounded by the regional crisis in the Middle East. 
• Currently, approximately 850 containers (19,500 MT of mixed commodities) are awaiting onward movement from Pakistan for 7 humanitarian organisations. 

5. Partner Updates & Questions 

• A partner reported successful air cargo transport from New Delhi, India to Kabul, Afghanistan at a lower rate than other air cargo options, encouraging other partners to re-confirm with freight forwarders and transport companies when rate hikes are being requested as there is likely room for negotiation.  

6. Any Other Business 

• The regional coordination meeting will now be held every two weeks until further notice. 
• The upstream pipeline survey is still available for partners to share their operational plans: https://ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/kXmev4sC. 
• All the documents and links related to the regional crisis can be found on the dedicated Logistics Cluster page which can be accessed from the home page of the website. 

The next Middle East Regional Coordination Meeting will be held on 7 May 2026. 

Contacts