May 25, 2026

Prepared by “the Media and Communication Department” at ANECD

Lebanon has approached completing three months of Israel expanded war on the country. The war started on March 2, 2026, and it has been more than a month and a half since the “truce” that was subsequently extended twice. In addition to the thousands of attacks to date, April 8 witnessed one of the most violent Israeli attacks on Lebanon. In ten minutes, the Israeli occupation army launched more than 100 airstrikes on various Lebanese regions in an operation Israel called “Eternal Darkness”. In a toll that is still preliminary due to people still trapped under the rubble, the operation left approximately 400 victims, including dozens of children, and thousands wounded. The attacks targeted entire buildings and neighborhoods without the “early warnings” that Israel boasts about, at a time when international organizations, most notably Amnesty International, have indicated that these warnings are “misleading and inadequate”.

In theory, Lebanon is currently in a “ceasefire” phase. In practice, however, its children and families, especially those in areas and villages subjected to Israeli aggression, are living under fire and threat, in a scenario similar to Gaza, which continues to experience massacres as of the date of this report.

Lebanon’s youngest are the biggest victims

“Children in Lebanon continue to be at the sharp end of ongoing violence, displacement and exposure to traumatic events” according to UNICEF, summarizing the tragic situation that children are still experiencing, particularly in areas subjected to Israeli attacks.

Until the date of this report, the number of victims has been steadily rising since March 2, exceeding 3,111, including at least 200 children. As for the wounded, they are around 9,400, including more than 800 children, according to data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health and the Disaster Risk Management Unit. In this context, UNICEF reports that nearly 14 children were killed or injured every day since the escalation of attacks on Lebanon on March 2, and more than four children killed or injured every day in the first 25 days of the ceasefire that came into effect at midnight on April 16, 2026.

Regarding displacement, Lebanon is experiencing its worst crisis in decades. By May 18, the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs had documented the displacement of more than 1.1 million people, including tens of thousands of children, with more than 130,000 sheltering in 635 centers. This displacement resulted either from direct Israeli shelling, the destruction of homes and livelihoods, and the bombing of entire neighborhoods, or from Israeli mass forced eviction notices affecting large areas of Lebanon.

Following the “truce”, these displacement orders continued to be issued, with more than six renewed orders covering at least 27 localities. Since then, the number of families residing in collective shelters has increased by 5%. There are currently around 44,800 children in these centers. Thus, thousands of children have been living in centers for two months in overcrowded conditions with inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, leading to reports of scabies and growing health concerns.

Furthermore, the Israeli targeting of the health sector in Lebanon constitutes a flagrant violation of all international conventions and humanitarian agreements. These attacks have targeted both public and private hospitals, forcing many to close or reduce their services. Primary healthcare centers and warehouses containing essential medicines and medical supplies have also been targeted. This direct and deliberate targeting of ambulance and civil defense personnel while performing their humanitarian duties exacerbates the tragedy, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries among paramedics, doctors, and nurses. The intended destruction of medical infrastructure not only aims to cripple the healthcare system capacity at critical moments, but also seeks to deprive civilians, families, and children of their fundamental right to treatment and emergency medical care, thereby compounding human suffering and pushing the country toward a profound health catastrophe.

At the educational level, the Israeli war has led to widespread disruption of the educational process. Students are facing a complex reality of displacement and intermittent unstable distance learning, with hundreds of schools transformed into shelters for displaced people.

According to UNICEF, the war has left nearly half a million students out of school after hundreds of public schools were converted to accommodate displaced persons. Distance learning has not alleviated the challenges, as this path remains fraught with obstacles due to the displacement of students and teachers, power outages, and severely weakened internet connectivity amidst ongoing bombardment and threats. The continuation of education in some schools during the war widened the gap between children who resumed their studies and displaced children who were unable to do so, impacting the right to equal access to education.

Moreover, Israeli strikes caused widespread destruction of educational institutions, particularly in villages in South Lebanon, posing significant challenges to the continuation of education, noting that some raids directly stroke educational institutions. Added is the decision to increase tuition fees for the coming year in some private schools, placing a heavy burden on parents.

On a psychological level, UNICEF estimates that over 770,000 children in Lebanon are suffering from heightened psychological distress as a result of repeated exposure to violence, loss, and displacement. Children and their caregivers are accounting for symptoms associated with trauma and grief, and parents are reporting widespread behavioral changes among children residing in collective shelters due to a lack of routine and reduced engagement with school activities. These changes include loss of appetite and sleep disturbances.

UNICEF explains that the impact of repeated exposure to conflict on children’s mental health can be profound and long-lasting. UNICEF warned that without urgently providing mental health and psychosocial support services in safe and stable environments, these children face a real risk of developing chronic mental health problems that could last a lifetime.

Evidence from the Child-focused Rapid Assessment conducted by UNICEF in 2025 had already pointed to a sharp deterioration in children’s mental health following the 2024 Israeli war, with 72% of caregivers reporting their children were anxious or nervous and 62% expressing their children were depressed or sad.

The battle to restore lost security

The challenges facing families in Lebanon extend beyond the truce phase, touching the very core of the lives and futures of Lebanon’s children. Today, parents and caregivers are finding themselves facing doubled responsibilities and challenges in rebuilding what the war destroyed, all in the midst of suffocating economic and living conditions.

The systematic destruction of the health sector is hindering parents’ ability to secure basic and emergency healthcare for their children amidst the war, while simultaneously imposing harsh educational burdens that jeopardize the future of hundreds of thousands of children. Moreover, while thousands of children are crammed into overcrowded shelters lacking basic hygiene and sanitation, the official entities are failing to adequately address the needs of the displaced. According to the Lebanese Minister of Finance, the average expenditure by the Lebanese government has reached 50 US$ per displaced person between the escalation of the war in early March and the third week of May.

All of this and more place a heavy burden on the parties involved in early childhood development, locally, regionally, and internationally, given the drastic reduction in funding. This makes the upcoming battle one of restoring the stolen security for every child and caregiver in Lebanon.