Desperation and Despair in Lebanon: Children Cling to Their Toys and Pets
17.03.2026 | from Save the Children
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17.03.2026, Save the Children is currently providing humanitarian aid to children and families in Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Syria. Our teams are supporting with cash and food aid, child protection, educational opportunities, and psychological support.
Additionally, we are prepared in Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey to quickly extend our assistance if needed.
We are happy to facilitate interviews with our experts in the region upon request.
Desperation and Despair in Lebanon: Children Cling to Their Toys and Pets
- Many families left everything behind while fleeing - Emergency shelters are overcrowded and inadequately equipped - Save the Children provides emergency aid and psychological support
More than 831,000 people, including 290,000 children, have been displaced in Lebanon over the past two weeks, according to authorities – many had to leave even the basics at home. Children in crowded shelters cling to their pets and toys, which they could quickly take along and which offer them some comfort, as reported by Save the Children staff.
"Many families had to flee in the middle of the night with empty hands. The children miss their homes, their friends, and their schools," says Nora Ingdal, Country Director for Save the Children in Lebanon. "One child I met was clinging to his blue toy car because it was the only thing he could take from home. A family fled with their cat because it calms their son. However, it is rare to see a playing child in the shelters. The violence must stop. Children suffer the most from the conflict, and the psychological scars will last for a long time."
More than 130,000 people sought refuge in overcrowded schools and sports stadiums. There are too few toilets, hardly any cooking facilities, and heating and blankets are missing in cold weather. Additionally, access to essential medical care is interrupted, affecting, for example, dialysis or cancer patients. A woman had to give birth in a car because the streets of Beirut were jammed due to mass evacuation.
Many people in Lebanon have already been displaced within their country for the second or third time. Since 2 March, nearly 120,000 people have fled to Syria. Some are stuck at the Syrian-Lebanese border. Save the Children distributes relief supplies such as blankets, mattresses, pillows, baby items, hygiene kits, and water in Lebanon and at the border with Syria. The children's rights organization also provides psychological first aid.
According to UN data, up to 3.2 million people have been displaced in Iran, and about 1,700 Afghans return daily from Iran to Afghanistan.
Save the Children urgently calls for an end to the violence and appeals to conflicting parties to respect international humanitarian law to protect children from further suffering. According to the Ministry of Health, 850 people have been killed so far in Lebanon, including 103 children.
To help children in this emotionally stressful situation, Save the Children offers psychological support as well as play and recreational activities in Lebanese shelters. In addition, the children's rights organization supports children and families with food and cash assistance, child protection programs, educational opportunities, water and sanitation, and health services. Save the Children is also active in the occupied Palestinian territories, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey.
For interview requests, please contact the contact person below.
Contact
Melina Stavrinos
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Source: Save the Children, Press release
Original article published on: Not und Verzweiflung im Libanon: Kinder klammern sich an ihre Spielsachen und Haustiere