UNICEF report finds 'surge in humanitarian needs' across Lebanon amid ongoing airstrikes

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - UNICEF on Tuesday said its latest report found a "surge in humanitarian needs" across Lebanon amid ongoing airstrikes, saying a "permanent cease-fire is essential."

"Should the conflict continue to escalate, UNICEF warns that the repercussions for children will be devastating," spokesperson James Elder told a UN press briefing in Geneva, regarding the findings of the report called Caught in the Crossfire: The Impact of Six Months of Conflict on Children in Lebanon.

Elder said he was referring to the effects of the southern Lebanon and northern Israel conflict.

According to the report released by UNICEF in Lebanon, 344 people, including eight children, were killed and 1,359 people, including 75 children, were injured in six months.

"UNICEF has previously warned of Lebanon’s unrelenting, overlapping emergencies and their impact on children and education," he said. "Today, these are compounded by almost daily airstrikes."

He stressed that 30,000 children among 90,000 people have been displaced and added that also the infrastructure that children rely on is being destroyed, including significant damage to water stations, "thus denying 100,000 people access to safe drinking water."

Around 23 healthcare facilities that serve 4,000 people are also closed due to the hostilities, he lamented.

- Conflict 'aggravated pre-existing education crisis'

Elder underscored that the ongoing conflict has "aggravated a pre-existing education crisis" in Lebanon.

Even before the current conflict, he said, over 700,000 children were out of school and not learning.

"And today in southern Lebanon, the recent violence has caused more than 70 schools to also close," he said, adding that closures affected 20,000 students.

Due to the economic crisis that the country is going through, he said: "It is estimated that more than half of the Lebanese population is living below the poverty line, while an estimated 90% of Syrian refugee households live in extreme poverty."

He also drew attention to the "alarming levels" of psychological distress among families and children.

"Reports of anxiety and trauma have surged - not only due to displacement, but also in response to the relentless shelling and air raids. Among Palestinian parents and caregivers across Lebanon, almost one in two children, 47%, express anxiety," he said.

Stressing that "a permanent cease-fire is essential," he added: "Without that, Lebanon is at risk of a full-scale war which would have a devastating impact on the 1.3 million children living in the country, as well as the rest of the children in the region."

Tensions have escalated along Lebanon’s border with Israel since the Israeli army launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 34,500 people following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

The clashes were the deadliest between the two sides since Israel and Hezbollah fought a full-scale war in 2006.