Over 200 children killed in Lebanon in under two months

GENEVA

Hussein and Zahraa, 3, displaced Lebanese twins who fled with their parents from their village of Mais al-Jabal in south Lebanon amid the ongoing Hezbollah-Israel war, play on a gun with a twisted barrel statute, symbolizing anti-violence, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo)

The U.N. said on Tuesday that over 200 children have been killed in Lebanon in the less than two months since Israel escalated its attacks targeting Hezbollah.

"Despite more than 200 children killed in Lebanon in less than two months, a disconcerting pattern has emerged: Their deaths are met with inertia from those able to stop this violence," James Elder, spokesman for the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, told reporters in Geneva.

"Over the last two months in Lebanon, an average of three children have been killed every single day," he said.

"Many, many more have been injured and traumatized," he added, highlighting that in the past two months, more than 1,100 children had been hurt in the violence.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in October last year in support of the Palestinian

"We must hope humanity never again witnesses the ongoing level of carnage of children in Gaza, though there are chilling similarities for children in Lebanon," he said.

"In Lebanon, much the same as has become the case in Gaza, the intolerable is quietly transforming into the acceptable. And the appalling is slipping into the realm of the expected."

 US envoy in Lebanon to halt war

Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday for talks with officials on a truce plan, which Lebanon has largely endorsed.

With the Lebanese government reviewing a U.S. truce proposal, an official who has been following the talks closely said that it had "a very positive view" on the plan.

"We are finalizing our last remarks about the U.S. wording of the draft," the official said.

Another government official said Lebanon was "waiting for U.S. special envoy Hochstein to arrive so we can review certain outstanding points with him.”

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would continue to conduct military operations against Hezbollah even if a ceasefire is reached.

"The most important thing is not [the deal that] will be laid on paper," Netanyahu told the parliament.

"We will be forced to ensure our security in the north [of Israel] and to systematically carry out operations against Hezbollah's attacks... even after a ceasefire,” to keep the group from rebuilding, he said.

Netanyahu also said there was no evidence Hezbollah would respect any ceasefire.