Children as young as four are being forced to go to work in Lebanon amid a “massive collapse” in humanitarian funding and escalating hostilities on the country’s southern border with Israel that threaten to spiral into a “full-scale war”, UN child experts said on Tuesday.
In a call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza which sparked intensifying exchanges of fire between armed militants Hezbollah and the Israeli military, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, warned that airstrikes are hitting “deeper and deeper” into Lebanon, with 344 people killed to date including eight youngsters.
“Together with those killed and the scores who have been injured, 30,000 children have now been displaced” out of some 90,000, since Hezbollah fighters stepped up strikes targeting northern Israel, following Hamas-led terror attacks on southern Israel on 7 October and Israel’s subsequent intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.
“Even with our greatest efforts, a permanent ceasefire is essential,” Mr. Elder insisted. “Without that ceasefire, Lebanon is at risk of a full-scale war, which will be utterly devastating for the country’s 1.3 million children, as well as well, of course, for the region’s children.”
Inside Lebanon, the UN official reported that key water station infrastructure has now been destroyed, leaving “around 100,000 people now denied access to clean drinking water”. Around 23 health facilities serving 4,000 people are also closed as a result of the violence.
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Entire families sent out to beg
In a sign of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Lebanon linked to the crisis, the UN agency warned that new food insecurity data indicated that rates of wasting were found to be unexpectedly high among children living in informal tented settlements for the displaced.
“We had indications that the crisis was getting worse in terms of nutrition, because we have seen a threefold increase to children being referred to our malnutrition programmes over the past 12 months,” said Ettie Higgins, UNICEF Lebanon deputy head of office. “And these are now programmes that in some cases were suspended in parts of the country because of the lack of humanitarian funding.”
As a result, communities are now “sending the entire family out for begging; they’re forcing children as young as four to work in agriculture…I spoke to a doctor recently who said that he had seven-year-olds coming to him with back problems because of the heavy loads of trash that they’re carrying on a daily basis.”
The UNICEF officer noted that children could expect to earn “maybe $2 per day, just to be able to eat and put a meal on the table. So, these stories unfortunately are getting more and more frequent and, more and more severe and tragic.”
Displaced have lost everything – again
Even before the latest hostilities, Lebanon faced a deep economic crisis – made worse by the COVID-19 emergency and chronic political instability – which has left around half he Lebanese population living below the poverty line.
Even more vulnerable are the one million-strong Syrian refugee population, nine in 10 of whom live in “extreme poverty”, according to the UNICEF report on the crisis, Caught in the Crossfire: the impact of six months of conflict on children in Lebanon.
The majority of those now displaced in the south of the country are Lebanese and many who work in farming and olive growing have lost their livelihoods for a second time, explained Ms. Higgins.
“We’ve been supporting families …to get back on their feet since the economic crisis began three or four years ago, since 2019 and they have again lost everything,” she told journalists in Geneva via videolink from Beirut.
“Many who have been working in agriculture, such as in olive farms, have also been destroyed. and even if they were able to go back, even tomorrow, the type of suffering that they’re subject to is going to be long-term because of the huge amount of unexploded ordnance that is now in many of these agricultural areas, meaning that it would be very, very difficult for them to reestablish themselves.”
Funding collapse
Amid growing needs and a spike in tensions between Lebanese and Syrian refugee communities which could be defused with prompt humanitarian action, the UNICEF officer warned that a number of donor countries had “significantly reduced” critical funding.
“We are facing a massive, a massive collapse in humanitarian funding over the past three months, four months in Lebanon,” Ms. Higgins said. “This has forced us to cut back all of our virtually all of our services, including, the provision of safe drinking water and, simple things like getting rid of sewage from communities that are already overburdened.”
Syria influx
Following the outbreak of the Syria crisis in 2011, many Lebanese villages that are now reeling from the hostilities welcomed more than a million refugees “into their schools, their clinics, their, their communities”, the UNICEF officer continued.
Today, “we are seeing tensions really spike and having an impact on children on a daily basis” she continued, while also noting the high level of trauma displayed by Palestinian refugees now living in “terrible conditions in the camps here”, while also suffering the “secondary trauma” of seeing what is happening to fellow Palestinians in Gaza.
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Simon Blake is an experienced journalist deeply interested in international affairs and global development. Having spent years reporting on humanitarian issues, he offers a unique perspective in his coverage of United Nations news.
As a concerned citizen, it’s heartbreaking to see the devastating impact of the Gaza war spillover on the vulnerable in Lebanon. Children should never be forced into labor due to conflicts and funding shortages. Immediate action is crucial to prevent further harm to innocent lives.
Can you provide more details on the impact of the escalating hostilities on the children in Lebanon? How are organizations like UNICEF addressing the challenges faced by the most vulnerable in this situation?
Hi AmyWilliams_27, the escalating hostilities in Lebanon are exacerbating the hardships faced by children, with many forced into work at a young age due to the humanitarian funding collapse. UNICEF is working tirelessly to provide support and assistance to the most vulnerable, but a permanent ceasefire is crucial to prevent further devastation for Lebanon’s children. The situation remains critical, and immediate action is imperative to protect the innocent lives at risk.
It’s heartbreaking to hear about the impact of the Gaza conflict on Lebanon’s vulnerable children. No child should ever have to face such hardships and be forced to work at such a young age. Urgent action is needed to protect these children and ensure their safety.
As a concerned parent myself, it’s truly heartbreaking to hear about the impact of the Gaza conflict on Lebanon’s vulnerable children. No child should ever have to work at such a young age due to dire circumstances. This situation urgently requires global attention and swift action to protect these innocent lives.
It is truly heartbreaking to hear about the children in Lebanon being affected by the escalating hostilities and violence caused by the Gaza conflict. The international community needs to prioritize the protection and well-being of these vulnerable children who are being forced into such dire circumstances. Immediate efforts must be made to ensure their safety and prevent further devastation in the region.
In a plea for an immediate end to the conflict in Gaza, which has fueled escalating clashes between armed groups Hezbollah and the Israeli military, UNICEF warns that airstrikes are penetrating “further and further” into Lebanon, resulting in the death of 344 individuals, including eight children. “With the casualties and the numerous injured, 30,000 children have been displaced so far out of around 90,000,” emphasized UNICEF representative James Elder. “Despite our utmost efforts, a lasting ceasefire is crucial,” Mr. Elder stressed. “Without this ceasefire, Lebanon faces the risk of a full-blown war, which would be extremely devastating for the nation’s 1.3 million children, as well as for the children in the wider region.”