1,100 children reported injured or killed in Middle East since conflict began – Unicef

The conflict in the Middle East is becoming “catastrophic for millions of children across the region”, says the United Nations agency for children, Unicef.

Since the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on 28 February, more than 1,100 children have been reported injured or killed in the violence, Unicef says in a statement.

The statement adds that this includes 200 children reportedly killed in Iran, 91 in Lebanon, four in Israel and one in Kuwait.

“Nothing justifies the killing and maiming of children, or the destruction and disruption of essential services that children depend on”, it says.

Unicef says it reiterates UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call “to end the fighting and engage in diplomatic negotiations”.

It also calls on parties to take “all necessary precautions in the choice of means and methods of warfare to minimise harm to civilians, including by avoiding the use of explosive weapons that disproportionately affect children”.