More than 400,000 children in Lebanon have been displaced over the past three weeks, according to a senior official from the U.N. children’s agency, who warned of a potential “lost generation” in the country, which is already grappling with multiple crises amid ongoing conflict. Israel has intensified its military campaign against the Hezbollah militant group, including launching a ground invasion, following a year of sporadic exchanges of fire during its war with Hamas in Gaza.
The fighting has forced 1.2 million people from their homes, with many fleeing to Beirut and other northern areas since the recent escalation began. Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian actions, recently visited schools repurposed as shelters for displaced families.
“What struck me is that this war is three weeks old, and so many children have been affected,” Chaiban told The Associated Press in Beirut. “As we sit here today, 1.2 million children are deprived of education. Their public schools have been rendered inaccessible, damaged by the war, or are being used as shelters. The last thing this country needs, in addition to everything else it has gone through, is the risk of a lost generation.”
While some private schools in Lebanon continue to operate, the public education system has suffered severely, impacting the country’s most vulnerable populations, including Palestinian and Syrian refugees. “I’m worried that we have hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian children at risk of losing their education,” Chaiban added.
According to the Health Ministry, more than 2,300 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes, with nearly 75% of those deaths occurring in the past month. Chaiban noted that over 100 children have been killed and more than 800 injured during the same period.
Displaced children are living in overcrowded shelters where multiple families often share a single classroom separated by plastic sheets, with about 1,000 people relying on just 12 toilets, many of which are non-functional. Many families have resorted to setting up tents along roads or public beaches.
Healthcare services have been disrupted
Chaiban highlighted the psychological toll on displaced children, who have endured significant violence and trauma, becoming fearful of loud noises due to the constant sounds of shelling and gunfire. He expressed concern about the ongoing evacuation orders, stating, “We’re at the beginning, and already there’s been a profound impact.”
The conflict has also disrupted healthcare services, with over 100 primary care facilities rendered inoperable and 12 hospitals either completely non-functional or only partially operational. Water infrastructure has been hit hard, with 26 water stations that serve nearly 350,000 people damaged in the last three weeks. UNICEF is collaborating with local authorities to repair these facilities.
Chaiban called for the protection of civilian infrastructure and appealed for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza, emphasizing the need for political will to resolve the conflict without military means. “What we must do is make sure that this stops, that this madness stops, that there’s a cease-fire before we reach the kind of destruction and pain and suffering and death that we’ve seen in Gaza,” he said.
Despite the urgent need for assistance, the emergency response appeal for $108 million in Lebanon has only received 8% of its funding three weeks into the escalation.
