West Bank attacks and Lebanon in focus
Beirut, Lebanon (PANA) - As the war continues to roil the Middle East and compound suffering for civilians across the region, the economic ramifications of the emergency are still playing out, with the Strait of Hormuz the focus of global attention with crude oil prices surging over $100 a barrel again.
Meanwhile, settler attacks have escalated dramatically against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a topic that we'll be across today also, with updates from the UN and our aid partners.
‘There’s a fear that the situation is going to get worse in Lebanon before it gets better’: UNICEF’s Ted Chaiban.
Briefing the media at UN Headquarters in New York, following a recent visit to Lebanon, Ted Chaiban, deputy chief of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that a further descent into a wider and more protracted conflict in the Middle East would be catastrophic for millions more children.
Since the beginning of the most recent escalation, more than 2,100 children have been killed or injured, including 206 children killed in Iran, 118 in Lebanon, four in Israel, and one in Kuwait.
"Behind these numbers are parents, grandparents, teachers, brothers and sisters, communities, cities," he said, adding that nations are in shock.
According to UNICEF, across the Middle East, around 44.8 million children were already living in conflict-affected settings before this war, and the consequences of what is unfolding now will be long-lasting for them.
Calling for the protection of civilians, schools, hospitals, and children, Mr. Chaiban said he returned from Lebanon with an even deeper sense of urgency.
"At a hospital in Beirut, I met a 14-year-old called Nour, who was being treated for severe injuries after her home was bombed. She told us she was sleeping in her room, and she woke up to find stones and rubble on top of her. She was screaming. The people around her were screaming too. Everyone around her in her family was injured. She felt like her heart was pushing her to scream, so help would come.
She was pulled from under the rubble and is now recovering at this hospital. But hundreds of children didn’t have the same luck."
Lebanon: Health facilities under attack
Speaking to the press at UN Headquarters in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the UN is "deeply concerned about the continuing attacks on healthcare, including health workers, health facilities, and ambulances".
As of Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports 64 attacks on healthcare facilities, resulting in 51 deaths and 91 injuries, further straining an already fragile health system.
Addressing displacement, he added that humanitarian updates indicate that 1.2 million people — around one in every five residents — have been forced to flee their homes.
More than 130,000 people, including some 46,000 children, are currently sheltering in over 600 collective sites nationwide, most of which are already at full capacity.
"Our humanitarian colleagues warned that these figures will rise further as hostilities intensify, with Israeli authorities announcing plans to escalate ground operations along the Blue Line."
Children and families displaced by the conflict in Lebanon are living in overcrowded shelters, facing uncertainty and limited access to basic necessities.
The ongoing violence has forced large numbers of people from their homes, disrupting education and exposing children to heightened risks and psychological distress.
The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, is responding on the ground by delivering essential supplies and providing psychosocial support, child protection services and access to education in shelters across the country.
“The violence must stop,” UNICEF warns, underscoring that children’s most urgent need is peace.
Over the past 48 hours, peacekeepers have recorded intense gunfire and explosions happening in and around the village of Naqoura, close to the UNIFIL mission’s headquarters.
“Bullets, fragments, and shrapnel have hit buildings and open areas inside our headquarters, putting peacekeepers at risk. As a result, peacekeepers have been restricted to shelters to avoid injury,” the UN said in a statement issued from UN Headquarters in New York.
“We remind all actors of their responsibility to ensure the ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers, and avoid any act, including combat activities, that could put them in harm's way.”
The ongoing escalation in the Middle East is severely disrupting global supply chains, driving up the cost and reducing the availability of essential goods, fuel and medicines. Key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, remain under threat, risking higher food and energy prices worldwide.
In a statement issued on Monday, Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director for UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said that "developing countries in Asia and the African continent are likely to bear the heaviest brunt".
-0-PANA RA 24March2026.
