The New Zealand government announced Monday it will give 500,000 NZ dollars ($411,963) to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help Syrian refugees and people affected by conflict in Lebanon.

"The International Committee of the Red Cross is providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to more than 260,000 conflict affected people in Lebanon, including Syrians who have fled the conflict in Syria," Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said in a statement.

"Civil unrest in Lebanon is creating a deepening crisis for these people, many of whom have already fled fighting in Syria," said McCully.

"The shocking violence in Syria continues to escalate. More the 25,000 civilians have been killed and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced."

With no clear end to the conflict in sight, the refugee situation was likely to deteriorate further and international action was required, he said.

New Zealand had already provided 1.5 million NZ dollars to support refugee populations in Turkey and Jordan.