(CNN) –– Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past four days have displaced some 140,000 children, “and many of them have arrived at shelters showing signs of great suffering,” Save the Children said in a statement Thursday.
“More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday in the latest escalation of cross-border violence, and the numbers are expected to rise in the coming days,” the statement added.
Lebanon’s health minister, Dr. Firass Abiad, told CNN on Thursday that he estimates there are likely between 400,000 and 500,000 internally displaced people, far more than officially recorded numbers. He said authorities only know how many people have been internally displaced to official shelters, but there are “multitudes” who also fled to stay with family, friends or in the homes of strangers who offered them shelter.
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Save the Children has expressed concern about the psychological impact of the conflict on children, “many of whom are showing signs of great distress due to constant displacement and shelling,” according to the statement.
The humanitarian group also expressed displeasure at the closure of many schools across Lebanon, saying it has affected “the country’s 1.5 million children, and that Lebanon’s already critical mental health crisis worsens as hostilities continue to escalate,” according to the statement.
“Children tell us that danger is everywhere and that they can never be safe. Any loud sound makes them jump now. The lives, rights and futures of many children have already been disrupted and now their ability to cope with this growing crisis has been eroded,” said Jennifer Moorehead, country director for Save the Children in Lebanon.
