UN says one child a day killed in Israel’s war on Lebanon in past month

As Israel expands its violative and run of forced displacements, UNICEF says 10 children are injured daily.

The United Nations children’s bureau says astatine slightest 1 kid a time has been killed successful Lebanon implicit the past period arsenic Israel intensifies its bombing campaign.

“Since October 4 of this year, astatine slightest 1 kid has been killed and 10 injured daily,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said connected Thursday and added that “the ongoing warfare successful Lebanon is upending children’s lives.”

The UN bureau said “thousands much children who person survived the galore months of changeless bombings physically unscathed are present acutely distressed by the unit and chaos astir them.”

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, 166 children person been killed and astatine slightest 1,168 injured since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging occurrence crossed the borderline successful October 2023. The struggle has escalated since August.

Trauma is prevalent among children, who amusement signs of emotional, behavioural and carnal distress.

“UNICEF teams person met children who are gripped by overwhelming fearfulness and accrued anxiety, including separation anxiety, fearfulness of loss, withdrawal, aggression, and trouble concentrating,” Russell said successful a statement.

“Many person disrupted sleep, haunted by nightmares, headaches, and nonaccomplishment of appetite. Deprived of the safety, stability, and enactment that schoolhouse provides, galore of these children are near without the spaces they request to play, learn, and heal.”

“But the existent healing tin lone statesman erstwhile the unit ends,” she added.

Top United States officials, including President Joe Biden’s Middle East bid envoy, Amos Hochstein, were expected to conscionable their Israeli counterparts connected Thursday to sermon a imaginable woody to extremity the struggle successful Lebanon.

On Wednesday, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed optimism astir a ceasefire successful “the coming hours oregon days” and Hezbollah’s caller leader, Naim Qassem, said the radical would judge a truce under definite conditions.

Forced displacement

The speech of a imaginable truce came arsenic the Israel subject issued caller orders displacing radical from respective Lebanese cities.

It warned residents to evacuate from much areas of confederate Lebanon, including the Palestinian exile campy of Rashidiyeh adjacent the larboard metropolis of Tyre.

Rashidiyeh is 1 of respective camps dating backmost to 1948 erstwhile hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled oregon were driven retired of their homes anterior to the instauration of Israel, an lawsuit known among Palestinians arsenic the Nakba, oregon “catastrophe”.

The subject besides issued an bid connected Thursday for the 2nd time successful a enactment for residents to determination retired of the metropolis of Baalbek and its surrounding areas.

Baalbek, good known for its UNESCO-designated ruins of an past Roman town, was pounded connected Wednesday hours aft the Israel service demanded that radical permission the area.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies