Nearly 800 Lebanese Children Killed in Israeli Strikes, Officials Say

(MENAFN) Close to 800 children have died and roughly 360,000 more have been driven from their homes over almost three years of Israeli military action in Lebanon, a toll that has triggered sharp condemnation from Lebanese officials and child-rights advocates.

The violence showed no sign of easing in the past day, as an Israeli airstrike on a house in Kfar Rumman, a town in the southern Nabatieh district, killed two children and wounded four more. Separate strikes on the town of Arabsalim and the city of Nabatieh injured three additional children.

The bloodshed persisted even after a US-brokered framework agreement was signed on June 26, laying out a phased Israeli pullback from Lebanese territory in return for the deployment of the Lebanese army.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the latest strikes on Sunday as "a dangerous escalation that goes beyond the repeated violations of the cessation-of-hostilities agreement and the framework agreement." He placed full responsibility for the escalation on Israel and pressed the United States and the wider international community to intervene without delay to stop the violations and hold those responsible to account.

Figures from Lebanon's Health Ministry show 259 children were among 4,362 people killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, with a further 1,050 children counted among 12,378 people wounded over the same stretch.

Death toll nears 800 among Lebanon's youngest
Lebanese lawmaker Inaya Ezzeddine, who heads the Lebanese parliament's Women and Children Committee, said Saturday that "nearly 800 children were killed during the two Israeli wars in 2024 and 2026."

Ezzeddine, who also serves as Lebanon's national coordinator for food systems transformation, described the scale of injury among survivors: "A large number of children suffered severe injuries and underwent multiple surgeries, while some lost limbs or eyes." She added, "This means they will need years of treatment and medical care, alongside specialized psychological, emotional, and social support."

Displacement has compounded the crisis, Ezzeddine said, noting that roughly 360,000 children were forced from their homes out of an estimated 1.2 million people displaced overall. Many were uprooted repeatedly as the areas where they sought refuge came under fire in turn.
"Some children were targeted alongside their families on displacement routes or while being forcibly driven from their homes," she said.

Beyond physical wounds, Ezzeddine cautioned that children face "invisible wounds" with the potential to shape their lives for years to come, warning that hundreds of thousands now need sustained psychological treatment and emotional and social support to cope with loss, chronic fear and an ongoing sense of insecurity.

UNICEF sounds the alarm
UNICEF has issued repeated warnings over the toll the attacks are taking on Lebanese children and has demanded an end to the violence. In May, the UN agency said children in Lebanon continue to pay "the highest price" from sustained violence, displacement and psychological trauma — this despite a ceasefire declared on April 17. The agency urged all parties to protect children, uphold international humanitarian law, and take every necessary step to keep the ceasefire intact.

Israel's campaign in Lebanon, underway since March 2, has killed 4,362 people, injured 12,378 others and displaced more than 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities. Israeli forces continue to occupy parts of southern Lebanon — some areas held for decades, others seized during the 2023–2024 war — and have pushed more than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into Lebanese territory during the current offensive.

MENAFN08092026000045017169ID1111634305