By Nohad Topalian | 2024-06-17

BEIRUT -- Children continue to pay a heavy price for Hizbullah's war with Israel as they are caught in the crosshairs of an escalating regional conflict.

Hizbullah on June 13 launched its largest simultaneous attack in near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since its ally Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, AFP reported.

The Iran-backed party said it targeted six barracks and military sites using rockets and drones, while simultaneously flying "squadrons of explosive-laden drones" at three other Israeli bases.

The attack comes amid border escalation that has killed at least 467 people in Lebanon, including around 90 civilians.

Eight children have been killed, and according to UNICEF, some 30,000 children have been displaced from their homes.

On May 23, 18 schoolchildren on a minibus narrowly escaped a drone strike that killed a Hizbullah fighter in the car ahead.

The strike targeted the car of Ahmed Farran, a physics professor who was allegedly in charge of manufacturing strategic weapons for Hizbullah.

"The glass shattered... and the car in front of us was burning," 11-year-old Mohammed Nasser told AFP from Nabatiyeh General Hospital.

Fearing more strikes, he said, "we put our schoolbags on our heads."

"At first, we didn't understand what was happening, and there was panic among the children," said bus driver Ahmad Qubaisi, 57.

"Suddenly a strike hit the car in front of us," he said. "The bus's windshield shattered... I backed up and that's when the second strike hit the car."

Children pay the price

"The children of the south are living in a state of terror because of the bombardment and what they see in the media," international relations professor and political writer Khaled al-Ezzi told Al-Fassel.

"Hizbullah's continuation of the war will leave an impact on them for a long time," he said. "We raise our voice against Hizbullah to stop its war, so that our children do not pay the price."

"When will Hizbullah feel for children and stop its war?" asked political writer Tony Boulos.

The Iran-backed party's escalation has exposed the children of the south to real danger, as evidenced by the school bus incident, he told Al-Fassel, "in addition to depriving the majority of them of education."

The recent violence has forced the closure of 72 schools in southern Lebanon, disrupting the education of some 20,000 students, according to UNICEF.