Devastating strikes in Lebanon reinforce urgent need for civilian protection
This is another horrifying escalation, with civilians, especially children, once again paying the price for a conflict not of their making.
10 April 2026In reaction to yesterday’s strikes in Lebanon, Plan International Lebanon’s Director of Programmes, Alam Janbein, said:
“What we witnessed yesterday is yet another horrifying escalation for civilians in Lebanon and especially for children, who are once again paying the price for a conflict they have no part in making.
While a ceasefire has been announced elsewhere in the region, many in Lebanon had hoped it would signal a path toward peace and stability. However, that hope quickly dimmed amid an intense escalation, with over 100 airstrikes reported within minutes. The consequences have been devastating: at least 182 people were killed overnight, whilst 890 were injured, according to the Ministry of Health. More than 1, 700 people have now been killed, including over 120 children.
Civilians are being killed and injured in large-scale strikes on populated areas, often without warning and in the midst of daily life. Entire villages are being flattened, and vital infrastructure is being destroyed.
Families are being forced to flee again and again, while access to essential services is collapsing at the moment it is most needed. Hospitals and clinics are closing or operating at reduced capacity, and schools are being used as shelters, disrupting learning for hundreds of thousands of children.
More than 1.1 million people have been displaced, including over 370,000 children. Displacement is increasing risks for children, particularly girls, in overcrowded and unfamiliar shelters, while cutting them off from education, protection, and support systems.
Our teams are working around the clock to provide life-saving assistance to displaced families – including food, water, cash, and essential supplies – but we cannot operate under constant bombing.
We need immediate protection of civilians, safe, sustained humanitarian access, and urgent funding to ramp up our response. Without this, the scale and severity of harm will continue to grow.”
Categories: Emergencies, Protection from violence
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