Lebanon: Despite the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, 12 children die or are injured every day

17 June 2026 Peace and Security

Unstable situation

Despite the recentAgreement between the USA and IranAnd the signs of decreased tension in the region, the humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains extremely difficult and unstable. This is stated in the latest operational report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Since the moment of the sharp escalation of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon on March 2, 247 children have been killed, and another 992 have been wounded. On average, this means thatEvery day, 12 children die or suffer serious injuries.

“For more than three months, children in Lebanon have been experiencing what no child should have to go through,” UNHICEF representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, said on Wednesday. Let us remind that on June 15 it was announced thatThe USA and Iran have reached an agreementAbout the memorandum of understanding.

In a conversation with the UN News Service, Korsy added: “We hope that the current ceasefire will indeed be a real cessation of hostilities because, after the announcement of the previous truce, violence against children and the conflict itself did not actually stop.”

Ceasefire violations

Although the intensity of hostilities has decreased, UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon continue to record an increase in military activity. This was reported by the UN Secretary-General’s press secretary, speaking on Wednesday at a briefing in New York.

According to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), there has been significant movement of Israeli armored vehicles, continuous movement of supply convoys, major engineering work, and destruction of facilities. From midnight until 16:00 on Wednesday, 26 violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli military forces and one airstrike were recorded.

During the same period, 312 flights and launches were registered in the mission: 291 were associated with the Israel Defense Forces, and another 21 with Hezbollah. For comparison: on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, 174 and 189 similar cases were recorded in a day.

“Outside the area of responsibility of the UN mission, we are aware of reports of Israeli artillery shelling and airstrikes on several areas, including Nabatiye, Saida and Jezzine, as well as repeated drone flights over Beirut and its southern suburbs,” noted the UN representative.

According to available data, at least one hit on a car in the Shchukino area led to the death of four people, several others were injured.

Sea safety

The UN mission also reported a violation of Lebanon’s maritime space: two Israeli warships conducted patrols approximately 600 meters from the coast of Naqoura in the south of the country, where the UNIFIL base is located.

On Wednesday, the mission and its naval component announced the continuation of cooperation with the Lebanese Navy for the gradual transfer of greater responsibility for securing the country’s territorial waters during 2026 – in accordance with the agreement signed in December of last year.

Commander of the Armed Forces of the Eastern African Union Major General Diodato Abanyara emphasized: “Long-term stability on land is inextricably linked to security at sea.”

Children’s condition

A significant part of the country has suffered serious destruction. Residential houses, schools, water supply and sanitation facilities, as well as other vital services, were affected. This exacerbated an already severe humanitarian situation and inflicted deep physical and psychological trauma on children.

Markoluigi Corsi told that one meeting in a hospital supported by UNICEF left an indelible mark on his memory. A teenage girl suffered as a result of the strike. The military called the consequences “collateral damage.” As a result of the attack, her father and three brothers died. The mother survived, and the girl herself was in a coma for some time.

When she began to look inside herself, the first thing she asked,“Where has humanity gone?”.“It’s very hard to hear this question, which has no answer, from a 14-year-old child,” Korsy admitted. “No child should have to endure such a nightmare.”

A generation deprived of childhood

According to UNHCR estimates, more than 770 thousand children are experiencing severe consequences of endless violence, loss, and forced displacement. Many cannot return home due to ongoing hostilities and the threat of unexploded ordnance.

“Behind these terrible numbers are lives cut short, children with shattered fates and families enduring profound loss, trauma, and uncertainty,” the UNICEF statement says. The figures, emphasized by the UN Children’s Fund, cannot convey the full scale of the tragedy: “Besides the deceased and injured, an entire generation of children has been deprived of a normal childhood. And the sense of security — something essential for every child’s growth and development — has been deeply undermined.”

The UNISEF representative emphasized: the price of the current crisis will be measured not only by lives lost today, but also by the opportunities lost for tomorrow.

VÂThe agencies call to immediately protect children from further violence, ensure the safety of schools, hospitals, water supply systems, and other civilian infrastructure, guarantee humanitarian access, and comply with international law.

“And the most important thing is that the children of Lebanon need to be given a chance not just to survive this crisis, but to recover afterwards and to reclaim the future that the war has put at risk,” the UN Children’s Fund is convinced.