Saudi Arabia donated US$1 million to support the UNICEF relief efforts in Lebanon following a UN-brokered truce took effect yesterday, the UN body said in a press release issued today.

Funds donated to UNICEF will help reinforce on-the-ground activities, it said.

"As much as the Saudi contribution allows for our immediate efforts to advance, their support is also vital in enabling us to carry out our longer-term development work in favor of affected children," Roberto Laurenti, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, was quoted as saying.

"This donation brings the total contributions by the Saudi Relief Committees to more than 6 million dollars over the past two years," added June Kunugi, UNICEF Gulf Area Representative.

On July 24 the United Nations called for donors and the international community to provide 150 million dollars to meet humanitarian needs over the next three months in Lebanon.

UNICEF's immediate requirements are budgeted at a total of 25 million dollars to respond to the immediate needs of displaced children in the areas of health, water and sanitation and psychosocial support.

According to UNICEF estimation, the 30-day old conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah has left over 900,000 people displaced amidst the wreckage of damaged infrastructure and a worsening shortage of essential goods and services.

In addition, this has been accompanied by soaring prices, with many commodities more than doubling in price over the past few days, including food, medical items and fuel.

UNICEF has provided water, hygiene and medical supplies to thousands of children and their families throughout Lebanon.

A campaign to immunize tens of thousands of children displaced by the conflict in Lebanon is underway amid fears that the mass population displacement provoked by the crisis could trigger an outbreak of measles, polio or other diseases.

After a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Monday, the displaced in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict began to return home.