Death, displacement, military duties: Kids plunged into crisis

Millions of children have been plunged into crisis by the war in West Asia, 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 their attacks on Iran, which has retaliated with bombings across the region. The highest reported child casualty event 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 — and its continued attacks in the occupied West Bank and Gaza — have compounded the bloodshed. Across the region, more than 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.

Lebanese forced to bury dead twice

In Lebanon, the dead are usually given one last glimpse of their home town before they are laid to rest. Hoisted high above the heads of the living, their casket is slowly marched through the streets where they grew up.

It is the hands of their loved ones that guide them into their final resting place, already dug, and gently sprinkle dirt on their body.

In south Lebanon, war has robbed the dead of their final goodbye. 

As Israel expands its ground invasion, families have been forced to abandon traditional funeral rites and bury their loved ones in temporary graveyards farther north.

In Tyre, 2-metre-wide ditches have been dug to house the dead. The epitaphs are brief: a number spray-painted in bright red on a thin wooden board to count the deceased.