Over 2,100 Children Killed or Injured in Middle East in 23 Days: UNICEF

More than 2,100 children have been killed or injured, including 118 in Lebanon and one in Kuwait, over 23 days of the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

“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,” according to remarks by UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban.

“Children across the region are paying a devastating price. A further descent into a wider or protracted conflict would be catastrophic for millions more,” he said.

He called for three immediate actions: a cessation of hostilities and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensuring safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, and providing urgent financial support to sustain the response.

Meanwhile, UNESCO warned of a “deeper learning crisis” across the Middle East if the violence continues, marked by a “greater exclusion of the most vulnerable children, loss of teachers and researchers, weakening of public trust in institutions and lasting damage to the region’s scientific capacities.”

Nearly a month into this devastating war, the impact is far reaching, shaking the world economy amid exponential price hikes in oil, fuel and gas, Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Jorge da Silva said.

Disruptions to and closures of airspace, transportation, shipping routes and key humanitarian crossings across the Middle East are impacting humanitarian operations and commercial supply chains, including availability and prices of basic goods and pharmaceuticals, he said.

Attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, threaten the delivery of basic supplies, risk higher food prices, and further strain fragile health systems, da Silva added.

He pointed out that developing countries in Asia and the African continent are likely to bear the heaviest brunt, as fertilizer markets are impacted, threatening food security.

He stressed that there is no military solution, noting that the only way to end this crisis is through a diplomatic and peaceful solution and the implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions. (QNA)