UNICEF: Over 370,000 children displaced in Lebanon due to Israeli attacks

(Patria) - More than 370,000 children in Lebanon have been forced to leave their homes in just three weeks since the start of intensified Israeli attacks and mass evacuation orders.

Officials from the UN children's agency (UNICEF) say this is one of the fastest and largest population displacements in the country's history.

UNICEF's representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, stressed that the scale of displacement is "staggering," with 19,000 children forced to leave their homes every day.

Many of them have been displaced for the second or third time, following conflicts in recent years.

- The mental and emotional exhaustion weighing on Lebanon's children is devastating. People no longer have a safe place to go - Corsi said in a report from Beirut.

According to UNICEF data, at least 121 children have been killed since the start of the latest escalation, while 399 have been wounded.

Many civilians are facing unsafe living conditions in more than 660 collective shelters, mostly located in schools, reports Reuters.

- This has interrupted the education of more than 150,000 students - said Karolina Lindholm Billing, representative of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Lebanon.

UN officials warn that Israeli attacks have hit areas previously designated as shelters, and that evacuation orders have often been sent in the middle of the night.