Lebanon: One in five children goes to bed hungry | Report

Four in five households in Lebanon are struggling to afford basic necessities, with children increasingly going without food, missing school, and being pushed into work as conflict compounds years of economic hardship, according to a press release issued on 30 September 2026 by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In an alert published on Wednesday, UNICEF reported that children go to bed hungry in at least one in five households, while a similar share of families lack sufficient drinking water. The agency’s new report, An Enduring Nightmare, documents the deepening toll on children. It is nearly six months since a 17 April ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Yet airstrikes and demolitions of homes continue.

The ceasefire sought to end hostilities between Lebanon-based Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli military, linked to the U.S.-Iran war. Of more than one million people displaced within weeks of the escalation, nearly 330,000 have yet to return home due to continued attacks and widespread destruction in southern Lebanon, “where Israel still occupies a strip of land.” The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has reported continuing “air strikes, shelling, demolitions and military activity” across south Lebanon. Humanitarian access remains restricted, and conditions for safe returns are unviable. The current crisis has compounded the damage from the 2023–2024 fighting and the economic collapse that has persisted since late 2019.

According to UNICEF’s findings, around one in three families surveyed said their children had missed necessary healthcare, mainly due to cost. Fourteen per cent said at least one child was working, more than twice the proportion recorded in January 2025. Since 2 March 2026, at least 261 children have been killed and 1,056 injured — an average of seven children killed or injured every day over six months. An estimated 12 per cent of injured children now live with a disability. Education has been severely disrupted, with 436 schools damaged or destroyed, putting around 100,000 children at risk of losing classroom access, while 86 teachers have been killed or injured.

Financial pressures are forcing families to cut education spending, with 46 per cent reporting reduced expenditure and 17 per cent saying their children had stopped attending school. Among those still in education, 29 per cent were unable to learn as expected, often due to difficulties concentrating and emotional distress. An estimated 770,000 children have experienced psychological distress over the past six months. More than half of households reported a deterioration in their children’s emotional well-being, while 63 per cent said their children were anxious or nervous.

“Children and young people in Lebanon are being asked to bear a burden no child should have to carry,” said UNICEF Lebanon Representative Marcoluigi Corsi.

An earlier UNICEF assessment this year found that only 22 per cent of those aged 18 to 25 were attending school or university, largely due to financial barriers, while 67 per cent were unemployed. UNICEF has stepped up its humanitarian response since January 2026, treating injured children, delivering supplies to shelters and medical facilities, and supporting displaced families. Today, 83 per cent of displaced families say they do not know when they will be able to return home.

“Without urgent and sustained action, an entire generation of children and young people risks carrying the scars of this crisis into adulthood,” Mr. Corsi stressed. The agency insisted that “Lebanon’s recovery depends on protecting children now and upholding their right to health care, education, protection and the opportunities they need to build their futures.”