More than 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon over the past seven days alone, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) announced on Monday, 9 March, as intensifying hostilities drive mass displacement across the country and push a devastating humanitarian crisis into a new and deadlier phase.
The figures, released by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder, amount to an average of more than ten children killed every day since 2 March.
The toll, placed in a longer context, is even more staggering. Over the past 28 months, 412 children have been killed in Lebanon, a figure that rose by 25 percent in the last six days, according to UNICEF.
The violence has also set off a mass exodus. Nearly 700,000 people have been forced out of their homes, among whom are approximately 200,000 children, many of whom are now sheltering in overcrowded and cold facilities, UNICEF said. The displacement adds to tens of thousands already uprooted by earlier rounds of escalation.
“Children are being killed and injured at a horrifying rate, families are fleeing their homes in fear, and thousands of children are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters,” Beigbeder said in a statement issued from Amman, Jordan.
UNICEF called on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and shelters, and urged an immediate de-escalation to prevent further harm.
As of 2 March 2026, Lebanon has been experiencing severe, intensifying attacks, with Israeli airstrikes hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs and eastern regions, targeting Hezbollah, amid the war in Iran. Fierce ground clashes in the south have displaced more than 300,000 people, leaving the situation highly volatile amid widespread destruction and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
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