Over 2,100 children killed or injured in Middle East conflict, averaging 87 daily, says UNICEF

At a briefing for journalists at the United Nations on Monday, Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, said that more than 2,100 children have been killed or injured in conflict zones since the escalation of fighting in the Middle East.

He added that this represents an average of around 87 children affected each day, warning that the figures are likely to rise as the fighting continues.

Chaiban said children across the region are paying a “devastating price” for the ongoing conflict, describing it as the US-Israeli war on Iran. He warned that the spread of violence and the rapid rise in displacement across several countries threaten “to pull an entire generation of children deeper into crisis.”   

He said: “More than 2,100 children have been killed or injured, including 206 children killed in Iran and 118 in Lebanon.  Four children were killed in Israel and one in Kuwait. These are reported figures, and they are expected to rise as the violence continues. That is an average of approximately 87 children either killed or injured every day since the beginning of the war.”

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On displacement in Lebanon, he said more than one million people have been forced to flee their homes, including around 370,000 children — nearly one-third of the displaced.

He added that many families have taken shelter in schools and public buildings, as basic services deteriorate and supply chains are disrupted.

Chaiban also said that about 90,000 Syrians have returned to Syria since the conflict began, alongside several thousand Lebanese. 

He added that the number of displaced people in Iran is estimated at around 3.2 million, including hundreds of thousands of children.

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