BEIRUT: Save the Children estimates that seven children are being killed daily in Lebanon since March, despite the agreements that are meant to end the fighting between Lebanon and Israel, which means that children are still at risk.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the relief organisation indicated that the constant attacks and destruction of civilian infrastructure by Israel were exposing children to constant threat.
According to Save the Children, at least 4,300 people have been killed and over 12,000 injured in Lebanon in the last six months. It reported that at least 257 children were killed and 1,039 children were injured. The organisation also indicated that 60-70 villages were destroyed.
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Nora Ingdal, the country director of Save the Children in Lebanon, urged the international community to ensure that further attacks, displacement, limitations on returning home and destruction of civilian infrastructure do not become a routine aspect of the lives of children in Lebanon.
During the fighting, more than one million individuals were displaced in southern Lebanon. The United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that over 348,800 individuals are still unable to go back to their homes even after the ceasefire was achieved in June.
The attacks between Hezbollah and Israel across borders started with the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In November 2024, the two sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire following the seizure of parts of southern Lebanon by Israeli forces, although Israeli troops have remained in the region and have been accused of numerous breaches of the ceasefire.
This was worsened when Hezbollah on March 2, in response to the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, fired a rocket and a drone attack on a military base in northern Israel.
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In June, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a framework to end the fighting, but Hezbollah declined the deal unless Israel completely withdraws its forces in Lebanese territory. An earlier agreement had also been made between the two sides in April that was aimed at stopping the fighting.
Save the Children reported that the effects of the conflict are still being felt even by those families who have been able to get back home. Children continue to experience impediments to basic services, such as education and health.
According to the organisation, a nationwide survey by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon revealed that 340 schools had been destroyed or damaged in the last six months.
Save the Children cautioned that unless immediate measures are taken to repair damaged schools in Lebanon, at least 100,000 children would miss the next school year.
