Lebanon: 12 children killed, maimed every day, despite Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire

Since hostilities escalated between Israel and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon on March 2, 247 children were killed and 992 injured, an average of 12 children killed or maimed every dayaccording to the agency.

“For more than three months, children in Lebanon have been experiencing experiences that no other child should ever have to go through.” UNICEF the country’s representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, said in a statement issued on Wednesday following the June 15 announcement that the United States and Iran had reached agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding.

“We hope that this ceasefire will truly be a true ceasefire because since the previous declaration, violence against children and conflict have not really stopped.he said UN News.

Dozens of violations

Despite the reduced intensity of hostilities, UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, UNIFILEcontinues to observe an escalating trajectory since Monday and extensive Israeli military activity, a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Their observations included high-density armor movements of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), ongoing logistics traffic, as well as large-scale engineering and demolition work across the region, plus reports of 26 violations of Lebanese airspace by the Israeli military between midnight and 16:00 local time and one airstrike.

UNIFIL recorded 312 passes between midnight and 4 pm on Wednesday, a total of 291 passes attributed to the IDF and 21 passes attributed to Hezbollah, compared to 174 and 189 passes reported in the 24-hour period on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

“Outside UNIFIL’s area of ​​operations, we are aware of reports of Israeli artillery shelling and airstrikes targeting several locations, including Nabatieh, Saida and Jezzine, as well as repeated drone flights in Beirut and its southern suburbs,” the UN spokesperson said. “At least one attack on a vehicle in Shukin was reported resulting in four fatalities and several injuries.”

Waterfront security

UNIFIL reported a violation of Lebanese maritime space by two IDF vessels carrying out a patrol about 600 meters off the coast of Naqoura in southern Lebanon, which is also a base for UN peacekeeping forces, the UN Spokesperson said.

UNIFIL, and its “blue helmets” navy, on Wednesday announced ongoing efforts to assist the Lebanese navy in assuming greater responsibility for securing its territorial waters through 2026, based on an agreement signed last December.

“Long-term stability on land is intrinsically linked to security at sea,” said UNIFIL Troop Commander Major General Diodato Abagnara.

‘Where is humanity?’

Widespread destruction has had a devastating impact on large swaths of the country, impacting housing, schools and essential services, including water, sanitation and hygiene systems, further compounding already dire humanitarian needs and dealing a devastating blow to children living through bombing and violence.

Mr Corsi said the encounter with the teenage girl at the UNICEF-supported hospital was still “on my mind and in my heart”.

The “collateral damage” of an attack included the deaths of her father and three brothers, leaving her mother alive and the girl in a coma, she said, recalling the first two questions he asked her while she was recovering: Where was the humanity? Where is the sense of justice?

“Those are tough questions coming from a 14-year-old that you can’t answer,” he said. “No child should have to experience that nightmare.”

Watch the full interview with Marcoluigi Corsi, UNICEF representative in Lebanon:

Mass displacement, disrupted childhoods

More than 770,000 children are experiencing increasing suffering due to repeated experiences of violence, loss and displacement, and many of them are unable to return home due to ongoing fighting and the threat of unexploded bombs, Corsi said.

“Behind these shocking numbers are lives cut short or changed forever, and families facing enormous loss, trauma and uncertainty,” he wrote. “Many have fled their homes multiple times, witnessed violence firsthand, lost loved ones and seen their schools, communities and sense of safety destroyed.”

However, these figures alone cannot depict the full scale of the crisis, he explained.

“In addition to those killed and maimed, an entire generation of children also experienced disrupted childhoodshe said. “Their sense of security, which every child needs to grow and develop, remains very weak.”

“The scale of physical and psychological harm we are seeing is unacceptable, and children continue to bear the devastating consequences of this conflict,” said a UNICEF representative, while urging a sustainable end to the violence.

The true cost of this crisis will not only be measured in lives lost now, but also in lost opportunities in the future.

Give children a chance

Children must be protected from further harm and schools, hospitals, water systems and other civil infrastructure must be immediately safeguarded, Corsi said.

In addition, humanitarian access must be ensured and international law must be respected.

“The most important, Lebanon’s children must be given the opportunity not only to survive this crisis, but also to recover from it and reclaiming a future threatened by conflict.”

Stay tuned UN News This Wednesday when the UN Secretary General releases his latest report on children and armed conflict at 8pm New York time.