The lack of fuel and access are two major problems facing humanitarian relief workers in Lebanon.
Two ships carrying fuel to run the country's power plants remain anchored off Cyprus.
When the captains demanded guarantees of safe passage, which Israel refuses to give, and the payment of $15 million in insurance premiums, which Lebanon cannot afford, the US navy offered to escort the ships to Beirut. One captain accepted; the other refused, but has agreed to offload his cargo on to small vessels, which will deliver the fuel to Beirut and Tripoli.
However, it is not clear how soon the fuel will arrive. If it is not delivered this week, the World Health Organisation says that 60 per cent of the hospitals in Lebanon will cease functioning.
Several have already closed, either because they are located in areas where there is shelling or due to lack of fuel and medical supplies.
Access throughout the country is difficult because Israel has destroyed so many roads and bridges. The entire area below the Litani River was cut off when Israel destroyed the last bridge on Sunday. Yesterday, Israel announced that vehicles operating in this region would be targeted. The northern Bekaa Valley, near the Roman city of Baalbek, is equally isolated.
Some 915,000 people, more than one-quarter of Lebanon's population, have been displaced so far: 565,000 are living with families; 131,000 are in 761 schools and public buildings; and 220,000 have left the country, including 150,000 who have fled to Syria.
These figures are changing daily as more people try to escape the Israeli bombardment.
On Monday night, for example, hundreds of families abandoned their homes in the southern Beirut suburb of Shiyyah after 15 people were killed during Israel's first bombardment of this quarter. Most people flee with little more than the clothing on their backs and have no financial resources outside their villages and towns.
Lebanese non-governmental organisations which have foreign partners and district and municipal authorities are bearing a great deal of the burden of providing for the displaced. The government's higher relief committee, which is run by the ministry of social affairs and the Lebanese army, is not functioning as effectively as it should.
The health ministry has pulled out of the relief committee, protesting bias in favour of political parties belonging to the governing coalition. These parties are accused of using aid to curry favour with displaced people sheltering in their constituencies.
There is also widespread criticism of the UN for failing to protect civilians from Israel's onslaught and failing to provide timely relief.
Families sheltering in schools are suffering from overcrowding and lack of sanitation. Many are said to have diarrhoea, respiratory and bronchial ailments, skin infections and lice infestations.
Hizbullah, the Hariri Foundation and a number of foreign and local NGOs are providing a hot meal once a day for several thousand displaced families in Beirut schools.
Displaced Lebanese from the south are moving into Palestinian refugee camps in Sidon and Beirut. This is putting great strain on the resources of the Palestinians themselves, most of whom have no financial cushion and have not been able to go to their jobs during the past month.
The resources of these groups are diminishing. Leila al-Ali, of Najdeh, said that her organisation had submitted an emergency project to Christian Aid, a long-standing partner, to provide for 6,000 hardship cases, including Palestinian daily workers and displaced Lebanese all over the country. Christian Aid is applying to Ireland for funding for this project.
Next Saturday, Lebanese and foreign NGOs and individuals are planning to gather at 7 am at Martyr's Square in the centre of Beirut to form a civilian convoy to transport aid to the besieged south in defiance of Israel's attempt to isolate that part of the country.
This peaceful endeavour, supported by more than 200 local and international bodies, is to be followed by further civilian protests against Israeli air strikes.