2,100 Children Killed or Injured in the Middle East
UNICEF has confirmed that more than 2,100 children have been killed or injured in the Middle East amid escalating conflict, the majority of them in Iran.
News Center — In a new report, the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund revealed that more than 2,100 children were killed or injured in the Middle East region over 23 days of escalating conflict.
According to the UNICEF report, the toll included 206 children in Iran, 118 in Lebanon, four in Israel, and one child in Kuwait, warning that these figures are likely to rise as violence continues and tensions expand across the region.
The UNICEF official explained that this equates to an average of approximately 87 children per day since the escalation began, stressing that any expansion of the war would be catastrophic for millions of other children, and called on all parties to protect civilians, schools, and hospitals, and to refrain from targeting children in any way.
In Lebanon, the UN official noted that 118 children had been killed and 372 injured since the escalation began, stating that this amounts to "an entire classroom killed or injured every day," at a time when the country is facing large-scale displacement and multiple impacts on educational centers, with 200–350 schools being used as temporary shelters.
UNICEF estimates indicate that more than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon, including approximately 400,000 children, and that 3.2 million people have been displaced in Iran, amid increasing pressure on basic services and educational and health facilities.
He stressed that the current humanitarian response does not meet the growing needs, affirming that the scale of need is increasing at a faster pace than available resources, despite aid reaching more than 151,000 displaced people and the provision of water, sanitation, education, and health services to thousands of children and families.
The UN official concluded by calling on the international community to take urgent steps, including a ceasefire, the protection of civilians, ensuring rapid and safe access for humanitarian aid, as well as providing urgent financial support to sustain the humanitarian response.