Eleven children on average have been killed or injured every 24 hours in Lebanon following Israel’s expansion of strikes in the country, totaling 77 child deaths or injuries in the last seven days, according to UNICEF. Israeli strikes have occurred in multiple towns and villages throughout Southern Lebanon following Israeli declarations for a new combat zone in the areas attacked. These actions come despite the ceasefire that has been in place since April 16th. Since the ceasefire began, the UNICEF reports that 55 children have lost their lives and 212 have been injured. Furthermore, there have been 27 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon, causing 25 deaths and 42 injuries; 16 hospitals and 13 healthcare centers were also damaged.
UN officials and field experts have expressed their concerns over these harmful actions. UNICEF Spokesperson Ricardo Pires called for all parties to abide by the ceasefire. Pires went on to express that “under international humanitarian law, children and civilian infrastructure must be protected.” The World Health Organization expanded on these comments and grave circumstances, explaining that the expansion of military activities by Israel poses a threat that raises deep health concerns for Lebanese citizens. UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder followed these statements, asserting that “children are being killed and injured when they should be returning to classrooms, playing with friends, and recovering from months of fear and upheaval.”
These attacks and killings are occurring in the context of a ceasefire—except this ceasefire does not seem to truly exist, according to Israeli actions in Southern Lebanon. When the stipulations of a ceasefire are not abided by but the existence of a ceasefire is acknowledged, violence is permitted under diplomatic cover, in which children bear the consequences. Outside of direct impacts from bombs and airstrikes that are causing significant casualties, around 770,000 children are experiencing heightened distress from their repeated exposure to violence, according to UNICEF. The inability to fully enforce the ceasefire which is disproportionately affecting children reveals the systemic dysfunction that we have become familiar with over the past several years when it comes to ceasefires—the ceasefire imposed is acting as a press release, rather than an effective means of halting violence. True accountability requires binding enforcement mechanisms in order to ensure the futures of impacted children are secured and absent from violence.
The fighting occurring comes from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict that began in late 2024, following the killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. This fighting escalated into a second wave of conflict, in which Hezbollah began firing into Israel following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Khamenei served as a patron of Hezbollah, his death breaking the fragile 2024 ceasefire. Violence worsened following the launch of the war against Iran by the United States and Israel in early 2026, where Hezbollah continued to renew its attacks on Israel, inherently drawing Lebanon into the widening conflict and thus prompting Israeli retaliation that constituted the illegal use of white phosphorus artillery on Lebanese citizens.
The violence occurring in Lebanon against its population, particularly against its children, is not necessarily new. The new predicament is the speed at which Lebanese children are being killed following the signing of ceasefire agreements. Since March 2nd, when the ceasefire was announced, over 200 children have been tragically killed and 806 have been injured. The effects on children from these attacks will impact the long-term prospects of regional stability and peace in the region. An upbringing that is dictated by violence does not produce the groundwork for sustainable peace, but rather makes it profoundly difficult. The world’s actors cannot advocate for peace while tolerating violating actions under the cover of a technical ceasefire.
