More than 100 minors have been killed in Lebanon since the latest escalation between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia, authorities said on Friday.
The Health Ministry in Beirut reported that a total of 773 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon so far, including 100 children and minors. Nearly 2,000 people have been registered as injured.
The situation for millions of children in Lebanon is catastrophic, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“Children must be protected under all circumstances,” emphasized Christian Schneider, executive director of UNICEF Germany, in a report.
Earlier, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that Lebanon is nearing a breaking point as mass displacement accelerates, with humanitarian groups warning that the scale of the crisis is growing by the hour.
At least 816,000 people — around 14% of the population — have been displaced in the first 10 days of the escalation, according to official figures cited by NRC.
The number is expected to rise further as Israel continues issuing evacuation warnings and carrying out airstrikes across multiple areas of the country.
“The scale of destruction and displacement is increasing with every passing hour,” said Maureen Philippon, the NRC’s country director in Lebanon.
She said families in shelters are experiencing repeated trauma, with many reliving cycles of bombing, loss and displacement similar to those they endured during previous rounds of fighting.
Israel’s evacuation orders now cover about 1,470 square kilometres, or roughly 14% of Lebanon’s territory, including parts of southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley.
Additional warnings issued recently have expanded the number of villages under threat, prompting further movement of civilians.
Humanitarian organizations say conditions in shelters are deteriorating as the number of displaced grows.
More than 122,000 people are currently staying in collective shelters, many of them overcrowded. In one school hosting around 1,200 people, an average of 15 people share each classroom, while about 23 people rely on a single toilet.
Water supplies are limited and many shelters lack showers and cooking facilities.
The violence has disrupted the education of around 1 million children.
Lebanon was already struggling with a severe economic crisis and weakened public services, leaving humanitarian agencies warning that the country has limited capacity to absorb a rapidly expanding displacement crisis.