More than 370,000 children have been forced from their homes in Lebanon amid Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah, with at least 121 children killed and 399 injured, UNICEF’s representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, said on Friday.
The current escalation started on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at Israel, describing the strike as retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in joint US-Israeli attacks on February 28.
The Iran‑backed group had reportedly held back from targeting Israel for 15 months following the November 2024 ceasefire, a period during which Lebanese officials accused Israel of almost daily violations.
Israel’s response to Hezbollah’s offensive has left at least 1,000 people dead — including 116 children and 40 health workers — and injured 2,432 others, according to Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry.
Large‑scale evacuation orders across southern and eastern regions, combined with ground operations in southern villages and continuous airstrikes, have pushed more than 1 million people from their homes in less than two weeks, overwhelming shelters and cutting communities off from essential services.
UNICEF says its rapid response teams have already assisted over 167,000 displaced people with essential non‑food supplies and winter kits.
However, the agency’s representative stressed that far more support is urgently needed, saying: “We urgently call for humanitarian access to all those in need.”
