One child a day killed in Israel's war on Lebanon in past month: UN

At least one child per day has been killed in Lebanon over the past month as Israel escalates its bombing campaign, the United Nations children's agency said on Thursday.

"Since October 4 of this year, at least one child has been killed and 10 injured daily," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said on Thursday and added that "the ongoing war in Lebanon is upending children's lives".

The UN agency said that "thousands more children who have survived months of relentless bombings without physical harm are now deeply traumatised by the surrounding violence and chaos".

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reports that 166 children have been killed and at least 1,168 injured since the start of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel in October 2023.

The ministry said on Thursday that 45 people were killed in the past 24 hours by Israeli attacks, bringing the total death toll to 2,865 since October 2023.

Trauma is widespread among children, manifesting in emotional, behavioural, and physical signs of distress.

"UNICEF teams have met children who are gripped by overwhelming fear and increased anxiety, including separation anxiety, fear of loss, withdrawal, aggression, and difficulty concentrating," Russell said in a statement.

"Many have disrupted sleep, haunted by nightmares, headaches, and loss of appetite. Deprived of the safety, stability, and support that school provides, many of these children are left without the spaces they need to play, learn, and heal," she said.

"But the true healing can only begin when the violence ends," she added.

Senior US officials, including President Joe Biden's Middle East peace envoy, Amos Hochstein, met Israeli officials on Thursday to discuss a potential agreement to resolve the conflict in Lebanon.

Talks of a potential truce came as the Israeli military had issued new orders for the displacement of residents from several Lebanese cities, including the Rashidiyeh   Palestinian refugee camp near the port city of Tyre.

Rashidiyeh is one of several refugee camps set up in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes before the founding of Israel, an event Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or "Catastrophe".

For the second consecutive day, the military issued an order on Thursday for residents to evacuate the city of Baalbek and its surrounding areas.

Baalbek, renowned for its UNESCO-listed ancient Roman ruins, was heavily bombarded on Wednesday, just hours after the Israeli army ordered residents to evacuate the area.