Children Sleeping in Cars and on the Streets in Lebanon as Families Seek Safety

BEIRUT (March 3, 2026)—Families are sleeping in cars, in the street, and in damaged schools seeking safety as the number of people displaced in Lebanon rises and seven children are reported killed, Save the Children said.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, about 58,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon in the past three days due to Israeli military airstrikes and forced displacement orders. UNICEF Lebanon reports that "nearly 18,000 children were displaced overnight."

With media reports of an Israeli military ground incursion, more families are fleeing their homes.^[1]

As armed conflict spreads in the wider region, Israeli strikes have reportedly killed 40 people including seven children in Lebanon and a further 246 people injured since Saturday.^[2][3]

Save the Children is urgently calling for a cessation of hostilities to protect children from further harm. Save the Children is responding by distributing essential items such as blankets, mattresses, pillows, baby supplies, hygiene items, and water to people who are displaced.

Nora Ingdal, Save the Children's Country Director for Lebanon, said:

"Our team is hearing cases of children across Lebanon sleeping in cars, on cold pavement, and in partially damaged classrooms with cracks in the walls, while parents are sitting on the side of the streets crying, exhausted from little sleep after being unable to get into proper shelters with their children.

"The buildings that they are finding and using as shelters are places no child should have to sleep in. Some of the schools housing families have water dripping through the walls from broken pipes, and there are no beds. These buildings are becoming increasingly crowded and are not designed to house families.

"In the south, families attempting to flee are stuck in huge queues of traffic. The situation is pure chaos for those on the move. Journeys that should take an hour are now taking over 15. Parents are telling Save the Children staff how anxious they feel, as they smell and see bombs and drones loom in the sky over them.

"I heard a 10-year-old ask her mother 'Why are they attacking us?' Her mother was completely lost for words and unable to give any answer to her child. This isn't a question any child should have to ask.

"Many of these children have been displaced before and are completely terrified. Families are being forced to relive their trauma and have nowhere safe to go. With media reports of an Israeli military ground incursion, families are glued to the news for any updates, but nothing is clear at the moment, and the future remains unknown for millions.

"Every possible effort must now be taken to prevent further escalation and to safeguard children. There must be an end to the hostilities. All parties involved in the conflict must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. Children must be protected at all times."

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SOURCES:

[1] Lebanon Ministry of Social Affairs

[2] Lebanon Ministry of Social Affairs

[3] UNICEF Lebanon