UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires described the toll as “staggering”. [Getty]
An average of 11 children have been killed or injured every 24 hours in Lebanon in the last week, as Israel expanded strikes across the country despite an alleged ceasefire being in place since 16 April.
A total of 77 children have been killed or injured in the last seven days, UNICEF said. Since the ceasefire began in April, 55 children have been killed, and 212 injured, according to the agency.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires described the toll as “staggering”.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,200 people since 2 March.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and well into Thursday, after Israel declared a new swathe of the area “a combat zone” and forcibly expelled the residents. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
On the ground, Israel appears to be pushing deeper into southern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes in Gaza, said the Israeli army was “operating with large forces on the ground and seizing dominant terrain.”
At the same time, reports suggest Israeli troops have advanced beyond the “Yellow Line” established under the 16 April ceasefire, and are being met with stiff resistance by Hezbollah.
This dual air and ground expanded violence by the Israeli military comes before Israeli and Lebanese military delegations are due to meet at the Pentagon for US-mediated security talks today, Friday, ahead of a renewed political negotiation process next week.
