Lebanon-Israel Conflict

Now their worst nightmare has become a reality. Children are being killed, injured and uprooted from their homes. A reported 37 towns have been completely wiped out. Since October 2023, the escalating violence has resulted in the death of 3,137 people, including more than 194 children, and over 14,000 people injured, including more than 1,263 children.

Airstrikes across multiple densely populated areas in Lebanon have left children and families killed, injured and fleeing for their lives. There have been 78 attacks on medical facilities and 34 water facilities have been damaged. Nowhere is safe in Lebanon.

1.2 million people, including 420,000 children, have fled their homes as a result of the increasing insecurities. Many of those fleeing are already vulnerable, including women, children and refugee populations who have already been displaced for months. 

Over 190,000 displaced people are currently taking refuge in 1,158 collective shelters, including public schools, with the majority of these shelters at full capacity. The majority of public schools remain non-operational, having been repurposed as collective shelters or completely destroyed or damaged. Every day away from the classroom, is a growing threat to the long-term physical and mental wellbeing of children. 

Children in Lebanon were already grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis driven by economic collapse, political instability and ongoing conflict. Violence is costing human lives – and as always, children are bearing the greatest brunt.

We know that children are particularly vulnerable in times of conflict. They are more likely to suffer life-altering physical and mental harm. They are more likely to become malnourished or sick when they are cut off from nutritious food, safe water or healthcare. Their right to learn and potential to grow up happy and healthy is ripped from beneath them when their homes and schools are being bombed.

We urgently call for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further suffering, ensure safe humanitarian access, and stop the conflict from escalating further across the region.

Thinking of home and what is has become, makes me cry. Sometimes I worry I won’t be able to remember what it looked like – Samer, 13 years old from Southern Lebanon.  

Help provide critical support to children in Lebanon and around the world by donating to our Children’s Emergency Fund.

Save the Children has been working in Lebanon since 1953, helping children survive, learn and stay safe. We are responding to ongoing needs, particularly for those who have been displaced by the escalation of violence in southern Lebanon. 

Since October 2023, we’ve supported more than 135,000 people including 58,100 children across 278 shelters in three key regions of Lebanon – Central and South, East, and North Lebanon. In these shelters we’re distributing essential items like blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits, water and food parcels, and facilitating recreational activities to help children process their traumatic experiences and continue their learning. We are also providing children and their families with cash to buy essentials like food, warm clothing and medicines.

We stand ready to scale up our response to the escalating situation. But we need your help to do this. With additional funds, we plan to: 

• Distribute essential relief items, like bottled water, toiletries, blankets pillows, mattresses and solar lights.
• Distribute food parcels, cash to buy essentials and play materials for children.
• Establish Child Protection Information Help Desks.
• Provision of education in emergencies and child protection in emergencies activities.
• Set up family tracing and reunification services.
• Provide psychological first aid and train local responders and community members in basic mental health support.

DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT CHILDREN IN LIVING IN CONFLICT IN PLACES LIKE LEBANON AND GAZA.