Eleven children have been killed or injured on average every 24 hours in Lebanon over the last week, the UN’s children’s agency said on Friday, as Israel has expanded strikes across the country despite a ceasefire.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday, after Israel declared a new swathe of the area a combat zone. It also struck a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday. A total of 77 children have been killed or injured in the last seven days, UNICEF said, citing figures provided by Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. Since the ceasefire began on April 16, 55 children have been killed and 212 injured, according to the agency.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires called for all parties to fully respect the ceasefire.
“Under international humanitarian law, children and civilian infrastructure must be protected,” he said.
The ceasefire announced by Washington was meant to halt the fighting that has raged between Israeli troops and Hezbollah since March 2.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also said on Friday that the threat from the expansion of military activities raised grave health concerns for the Lebanese population.
Since the ceasefire took effect, a total of 27 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon have been reported, resulting in 25 deaths and 42 injuries, according to the WHO. A total of 16 hospitals and 13 primary healthcare centres have been damaged in attacks, it added.
At least five people were killed on Friday in Israeli airstrikes targeting several towns in southern Lebanon in a brazen violation of the US-mediated ceasefire that has been in effect since April 17, according to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA. Four people were killed in an Israeli strike on a building in the town of Abbasiyeh near the southern city of Tyre, while another person was killed in a separate airstrike on Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, the news agency reported.
Israeli warplanes also targeted a house in the town of Harayib, leaving several people injured. Israel carried out more airstrikes that hit the towns of Gandouriyeh, Frun, Harayib, and Mansouri in southern Lebanon.
An Israeli drone strike on the town of Majdal Zoun near Tyre also caused injuries, according to NNA.
In Nabatieh province, Israeli warplanes targeted a building in the town of Habboush, destroying the structure.
Throughout the day, a low-flying Israeli drone was spotted over Beirut, Lebanon’s capital.
Another drone strike targeted a motorcycle travelling on the Tyre-Abbasiyeh road, leaving several people injured.
Earlier on Friday, a Lebanese police officer was killed in an Israeli drone strike on the town of Aba in Nabatieh province.