A small displaced boy sleeping in the back trunk of the car. (Credit: Mohammed Yassin/L'Orient Today)
Seven children have been killed and 38 injured in the past 24 hours amid renewed Israeli strikes across Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry, citing a report published by UN children's agency UNICEF on Wednesday.
Nearly 60,000 people, including 18,000 children, have been displaced in the same period, adding to tens of thousands already displaced, the UNICEF report said. Over 12,000 families have sought shelter in more than 300 centers nationwide, many already at full capacity.
In the early hours of Monday, amid the regional war, Hezbollah launched six strikes towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel then launched heavy strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa.
“No child should ever be killed or be left to bear the lifelong physical and emotional scars of violence,” said Marcoluigi Corsi, the UNICEF representative in Lebanon. “The violence must stop. Children must always be protected.”
UNICEF is scaling up emergency support, sending Rapid Response Teams to shelters with "life-saving supplies and distributing essential medical aid in coordination with the Health Ministry. Mobile Primary Healthcare Satellite Units have expanded to 37 units, providing consultations, immunizations, and urgent care to displaced families, while hospital support continues for neonatal and pediatric intensive care."
In shelters, UNICEF and its partners are currently focusing on "psychosocial support, child protection, and maintaining learning continuity through online and remote platforms. Nutrition supplies are pre-positioned, and child protection teams are assisting injured, unaccompanied, and separated children. Emergency cash aid is also being prepared to support up to 45,000 vulnerable families."
UNICEF’s Response and Preparedness Plan requires $48 million to reach one million people in need, but only 16 percent of funding has been received so far, the report concluded.
