DaysofPal – The United Nations children’s agency reports that Israeli airstrikes continue to target various parts of Lebanon, forcing nearly 700,000 people to leave their homes.
UNICEF said the mass displacement follows intense Israeli attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, along with areas in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. The agency warned that civilians are paying a heavy price for the escalating violence.
Among the displaced are roughly 200,000 children and adolescents who now face extremely harsh living conditions.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, expressed shock at the scale of civilian casualties. He stated that children are being killed and injured at an alarming rate. The agency stressed that the continuing escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and the growing toll on children raise serious concerns.
Figures released by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health show that at least 83 children were killed among 394 people who died during Israeli attacks since 2 March. The ministry reported that at least 254 children were injured out of a total of 1,130 wounded.
Other health ministry data indicates that the war has claimed the lives of at least 83 children and 42 women among more than 500 people killed since the confrontation began, with an average of about 100 deaths recorded each day.
Beigbeder said thousands of families who fled the bombardment are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters. He described the figures as clear evidence of the scale of the humanitarian crisis affecting Lebanon, which faces one of the largest waves of displacement in its modern history.
Many residents from Beirut’s southern suburbs have taken refuge in public spaces such as Martyrs’ Square and nearby streets after Israeli military warnings urged residents to evacuate their homes.
The scale of the displacement has forced authorities to convert public facilities into emergency shelters. Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, the country’s largest sports complex, now hosts hundreds of displaced families.
Inside the stadium, rows of tents have been set up while families rely on donated clothes and winter jackets to cope with the cold weather.
Israeli forces continue issuing evacuation orders to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut and large areas across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region.
These actions are perceived by many Lebanese as attempts to drive people from their homes, demolish towns and villages, and use the displacement of civilians as leverage in the conflict. The situation raises fears of a prolonged humanitarian crisis that could surpass the impact of previous conflicts.
UNICEF also reported that over the past 28 months, at least 329 children in Lebanon were killed and 1,632 others injured. During the last six days alone, the number of child deaths increased by 25 percent, bringing the total to a tragic figure of 412 children.
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