According to UNICEF, three teenagers have been killed every day in Lebanon in the past two months. UNICEF: Lebanese children face same fate as Gaza children Peace and Security
The fighting on both sides of the Blue Line dividing Lebanon and Israel is becoming increasingly violent and destructive, UN peacekeepers on the frontline reported on Tuesday.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 878,000 people have been evacuated in Lebanon amid escalating clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants. The UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) is assisting hundreds of families in 11 centers across the country.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that Lebanon’s children were at risk of the same fate as those in Gaza, with escalating violence leading to the “normalization of daily horror.” An average of three teenagers have been killed every day in Lebanon over the past two months, UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes by Israeli airstrikes, he said; “disproportionate attacks” have caused significant damage to the infrastructure that children rely on, particularly in health care facilities.
“We would hope that humanity would never again allow the kind of brutal massacre of children that is happening in Gaza, but we are seeing chilling parallels now in Lebanon,” James Elder said.
Massive destruction and massive displacement
As part of the ongoing campaign against Hezbollah militants, the Israeli military has intruded deep into Lebanese territory, Andrea Tenenti, a spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping force in the region (UNIFIL), said on Tuesday, speaking via video link from Beirut in Geneva. “Many villages in the Blue Line area, such as Kfar Kila and Maroun al-Ras, were completely destroyed as a result of the Israeli invasion,” she said.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 3,500 people have been killed and about 15,000 injured in Lebanon since the conflict began on October 8, 2023. Most of the casualties were recorded after the sharp escalation that began on September 17.
“While the human cost of this conflict is reaching unimaginable proportions, global calls for a ceasefire and a negotiated solution are sadly falling on deaf ears,” a UN peacekeeping spokeswoman said.
Andrea Tenenti added that the location of 10,000 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries has remained unchanged since September 23: “They are all in about 50 positions in the fighting area, monitoring and reporting on the situation on the ground.”
The situation in northern Gaza
Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, a World Health Organization representative (WHO) Margaret Harry said the war in Gaza had caused unimaginable destruction and suffering across the enclave, but the situation remained particularly dangerous for those in need of humanitarian assistance.
Dr Harris highlighted the alarming situation of 78 patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the north of the enclave, who lack food, drinking water and medicine.
“There are only enough supplies there to last for two weeks at best,” she said. “It is impossible to plan any humanitarian missions at this time. There are wonderful people who are willing to risk this very dangerous situation to help children, but we cannot get them to where they are needed.”