Lebanon’s children: The silent victims of war

There is a threshold at which the language of war ceases to be adequate. When more than ten children are killed every single day. When 412 children are dead. When roughly 36 more are wounded daily, their small bodies absorbing the force of airstrikes and artillery shells in a country that has already spent decades burying its young.

At that threshold, words such as “escalation,” “casualties,” and “collateral damage” risk becoming a form of moral distance from the scale of the suffering.

What is happening to Lebanon’s children is not simply a tragic byproduct of military operations. It raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law and demands urgent scrutiny.

The numbers that cannot be normalized

According to UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder, at least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon since March 2 alone, as Israeli military strikes intensified across the country.

In a single six-day period, the total child death toll rose by 25 percent, bringing the cumulative number of children killed during 28 months of conflict to 412, with an additional 1,632 injured.

“These figures are staggering,” Beigbeder said. “They are a stark testament to the toll that conflict is taking on children.”

White phosphorus: A controversial weapon

Among the most alarming allegations surrounding Israel’s campaign in Lebanon are reports of the use of white phosphorus munitions in civilian areas. Under Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations is prohibited, and their deployment in populated areas raises serious legal concerns under international humanitarian law.

White phosphorus ignites upon contact with oxygen and burns at approximately 800 degrees Celsius. It cannot be extinguished with water and adheres to skin, burning through flesh and tissue.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both documented cases in which Israeli forces allegedly used white phosphorus in Lebanon, including in populated areas in the south of the country.

The use of such weapons in civilian areas remains highly controversial and, if confirmed under the circumstances alleged, could constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

760,000 displaced, 200,000 children

Beyond the dead and the wounded lies the vast humanitarian crisis of displacement. Since March 2, evacuation warnings across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, have triggered one of the largest population movements the country has experienced since the civil war.

Nearly 760,000 people have been forced from their homes. Approximately 200,000 of them are children. Only 120,000 people have taken refuge in shelters.

Many are sleeping in overcrowded shelters, school gymnasiums, relatives’ apartments, or temporary accommodations. Food supplies are limited in some areas, and families have watched their homes destroyed or abandoned amid the fighting.

The psychological toll is likely to be profound. Children growing up amid bombardment, displacement, and uncertainty often carry the trauma of conflict long after the violence subsides.

A world that must choose its words carefully

UNICEF has called on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure including schools, shelters, and hospitals and to adhere to international humanitarian law.

Those calls underscore the urgent need for restraint and protection for civilians, particularly children.

The scale of the suffering has also intensified calls among humanitarian groups and legal experts for accountability and greater international scrutiny of the conduct of hostilities.

The children of Lebanon did not choose this war. They did not pick sides, sign treaties, or fire rockets. They were simply in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods when the strikes came.

Their protection under international law is clear. Ensuring that protection and responding when it is violated remains a responsibility the international community cannot ignore.