Middle East War Devastates Children: Deaths, Displacement,

Published: 4 April 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

Millions of children have been plunged into crisis by the war in the Middle East, with reports of child soldiers in Iran, mass forced displacements in Lebanon, and the killing of hundreds of minors.

According to the UN agency for children, Unicef, more than 340 children have been killed and thousands injured since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, which retaliated with bombings across the region. The highest reported child casualty occurred on the first day of the war when a US missile strike on a school in Iran killed at least 160 children and teachers.

Israel’s invasion of Lebanon – along with continued attacks in the occupied West Bank and Gaza – has compounded the bloodshed. Across the region, over 1.2 million children have been displaced.

“Children in the region are being exposed to horrific violence, while the very systems and services meant to keep them safe are coming under attack,” said Unicef’s executive director, Catherine Russell.

More than 1.1 million people, including nearly 400,000 children, have been forced to flee their homes due to Israeli bombing and displacement orders in Lebanon. Nearly 90% live outside shelters, often sleeping in the street.

Nidal Ahmed, 52, and two of his children live in a tent in an impromptu encampment in Biel, Beirut’s nightclub district. Ahmed’s home in Tyre was destroyed in an airstrike, and his brother’s home was later emptied by Israeli forces.

“It’s 5pm and we haven’t had anything to eat today,” Ahmed said, his eight-month-old daughter, Zahraa, sitting in a stained onesie. After a month of displacement, Ahmed has run out of money to feed his children and relies on irregular aid distributions.

The conditions are “humiliating,” he said, pointing to the blue tarpaulin tent he erected. His three-year-old son, Ahmad, showers only once a week at a friend’s house. Unicef’s representative to Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, warned that “this relentless cycle of bombardment and displacement is severely compounding psychological scars, embedding deep-seated fear and threatening long-term emotional harm.”

Despite a ceasefire, at least 50 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the Iran conflict began. Israeli airstrikes on 29 March killed at least six Palestinians, including a girl. Gaza, already devastated by previous bombardments, has seen schools close, hospitals damaged, and crossings shut, blocking humanitarian aid.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers and security forces killed at least three children since the start of the Iran war. One tragic incident on 15 March saw five-year-old Mohammed and seven-year-old Othman killed alongside their parents in Tamoun, leaving their 11-year-old brother Khaled traumatized.

In Israel, retaliatory Iranian missiles killed at least four children, with one attack on 1 March hitting Beit Shemesh.

Reports indicate children as young as 12 are being used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to guard checkpoints. Human Rights Watch condemned the recruitment campaign as a violation of children’s rights and a war crime for children under 15.

An 11-year-old boy, Alireza Jafari, was reportedly killed at a checkpoint while volunteering with the Basij militia. Bill Van Esveld of HRW said, “There is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children. Iranian authorities are risking children’s lives for manpower.”

US bombing of a primary school in Minab on 28 February killed scores of children, mostly seven- to twelve-year-old girls. Across the region, 316 medical centres and 763 schools have been damaged or destroyed. At least 52 million school-age children have had their education disrupted, forced to move online or leave school entirely.

Ahmad Alhendawi from Save the Children said, “Every missed lesson deepens the scars of war. Schools are protected sites, and attacks on them could be grave breaches of international law.”

Exposure to prolonged violence threatens brain development, emotional regulation, and long-term mental health. Satellite TV and online broadcasts provide guidance on dealing with children’s fears, but the trauma is pervasive. Alhendawi emphasized, “Every war is a war on children. Children are living in fear, caught in the crossfire of this adult war.”

The US-Israeli war in the Middle East has created a humanitarian catastrophe for children, with displacement, education disruption, recruitment, and psychological trauma leaving a generation at risk of lifelong scars.