By Edwin Nwachukwu

For more than three months, children in Lebanon have lived through experiences no child should ever endure. Many have fled their homes multiple times, witnessed violence first-hand, lost loved ones, and seen their schools, communities, and sense of safety shattered.

According to a statement by the UNICEF Country Representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, “after over 100 days of increased hostilities – since 2 March – 247 children have been killed and 992 injured, an average of 12 children killed or maimed every day. Behind these staggering figures are lives cut short or forever changed, and families facing profound loss, trauma, and uncertainty.

It said that the numbers alone cannot convey the full scale of the crisis. Beyond those killed and maimed, an entire generation of children has seen its childhood disrupted. Their sense of safety – one that every child needs to grow and thrive – remains profoundly undermined.

“With renewed hope for hostilities to halt, children need more than an end to violence – they require protection, sustained support to restore access to essential services, and to be offered a consistent pathway to recovery and a safer future.

“Widespread destruction remains across large parts of the country, affecting homes, schools, and essential services – including water, sanitation and hygiene systems – further compounding already severe humanitarian needs.  

“More than 770,000 children are experiencing heightened distress from repeated exposure to violence, loss and displacement. Many remain unable to return home because of ongoing fighting and the threat of unexploded ordnance,’’ the statement said. 

The statement explained that the scale of physical and psychological harm they are witnessing is unacceptable, and children continue to pay a terrible price for this conflict, stressing that ending the violence is essential to restore access to education and other basic services and providing children with a pathway to recovery and a safer future.

‘’The true cost of this crisis will not only be measured in lives lost today, but in the opportunities missed tomorrow. Without sustained support, many children risk carrying the consequences of this war with them for years to come.

“UNICEF reiterates its urgent call for a sustained cessation of hostilities. Children need to be protected from further harm and schools, hospitals, water systems and other civilian infrastructure urgently safeguarded. Humanitarian access must be ensured and international law must be respected.

“Most importantly, Lebanon’s children must be given the chance not only to survive this crisis, but to recover from it and reclaim the future that conflict has placed at risk.”

GENEVA – UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today urged renewed efforts to bring a permanent end to hostilities in Lebanon, saying the continued suffering inflicted on the population despite an agreed ceasefire, including the killing of over 100 civilians in the past 10 months, is tragic and must stop.

Since the ceasefire of 27 November 2024, the Lebanese Armed Forces say Israel has committed thousands of violations of the agreement, including alleged attacks on civilians and home demolitions; while the Israel Defense Forces has been quoted as confirming hundreds of airstrikes on what it claims were Hezbollah targets.

“We are still seeing devastating impacts of jet and drone strikes in residential areas, as well as near UN peacekeepers in the south,” the High Commissioner said.

“Today, families are simply unable to make a start on rebuilding their homes and their lives, and instead are faced by the real and present danger of more strikes. Hundreds of damaged schools, health facilities, places of worship, among other civilian sites, are still no-go zones, or at best, only partly useable.”

In one of the deadliest strikes, five people, including three children, were killed when an Israeli drone struck a vehicle and a motorcycle in the border area of Bint Jbeil on 21 September. The High Commissioner called for an independent and impartial investigation into the incident, along with other incidents which raise concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law.

Up until the end of September, the UN Human Rights Office has verified 103 civilians killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire. There have been no reports of killings from projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel since the ceasefire.

More than 80,000 people remain displaced in Lebanon as a result of the ongoing violence, Türk added, saying the situation for migrants and refugees already living in dire conditions before the conflict has deteriorated further. Some 30,000 from northern Israel reportedly remain displaced.

“At all times during the conduct of hostilities, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and international humanitarian law fully respected, irrespective of claims of breaches of a ceasefire,” Türk said.

“Good faith implementation of the ceasefire is the only path towards a durable peace, and its terms need to be respected. I urge all parties to double down on transitioning to a permanent cessation as laid out by the UN Security Council,” he added, referring to resolution 1701 which was unanimously adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lagos, April 30, 2024 – Ongoing hostilities in southern Lebanon are taking a devastating toll on the population, forcing approximately over 90,000 people – including 30,000 children – from their homes.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Public Health, 8 children are among the 344 people killed and 75 children among the 1359 people injured since the escalation of the hostilities in October 2023.

The increase in armed conflict has damaged civilian infrastructure and facilities and has also impacted the essential services that children and families depend on, including significant damage to nine water stations, which serve a population of 100,000 people.

More than 70 schools are currently closed, affecting around 20,000 students and significantly affecting their education. Around 23 healthcare facilities – serving 4,000 people – are closed due to the hostilities.

“As the conflict impacting the south of Lebanon is in its seventh month, we are deeply concerned by the situation of children and families who have been forced from their homes, and the profound long-term impact the violence is taking on children’s safety, health and access to education,” said UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Edouard Beigbeder.

“As long as the situation remains so volatile, more children will suffer. Protection of children is an obligation under the International Humanitarian Law and every child deserves to be safe.”

Prior to the onset of this conflict, Lebanon’s essential services, including health and education systems, were already on the brink of collapse after years of being overstretched.

The health system is unable to meet the demands for public healthcare due to a scarcity of resources including energy, human resources, equipment, and medication.

The unprecedented financial and economic crises that have devastated the country since 2019 have exacerbated existing economic vulnerabilities, resulting in the loss of jobs and income, high inflation, and a shortage of essential services including electricity and medication.

UNICEF, working with partners, has been delivering vital aid to families affected by the hostilities, including life-saving medical supplies, hygiene kits, micronutrient supplements and complementary feeding jars to the displaced families who are mainly living in collective shelters.

UNICEF has also delivered fuel, water, water tanks, winter clothes and blankets. A one-time emergency cash support was jointly delivered with the Ministry of Social Affairs to address the immediate needs of 85,000 people.

Internally displaced children were able to resume their education in public schools and received new school supplies and transportation assistance.

“The situation in the south is adding to the ongoing multiple crises that the country has been facing since 2019,” said Beigbeder.

“The severity of the crises is unbearable for children, and more must be done to prevent their suffering. We call for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of children and civilians.

”We must redouble our efforts to make sure every child in Lebanon is in school and learning, is protected from physical and mental harm, and has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to society.”