We are offering interviews with Kieran King, Head of Humanitarian at War Child UK, alongside our Middle East Regional Director, Flutra Gorana, who is based in Lebanon and Angela Huddleston, our Regional Humanitarian Manager, who is based in Jordan and can provide insight from War Child’s teams and partners on the ground in Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, and more.
Why this matters now
While diplomatic and military developments dominate headlines, children are bearing the cost of political and military decisions:
- Escalating strikes risk compounding already catastrophic humanitarian crises across the region - from Lebanon to Gaza and the West Bank.
- In Lebanon, fresh violence has triggered sudden displacement, immediately disrupting children’s access to education and increasing risks of family separation, exploitation and trauma.
- In Gaza, children remain without safe homes, reliable access to schooling, or adequate mental health support. Border closures have once again cut off vital lifelines.
- In the West Bank, heightened movement restrictions are limiting children’s access to education, healthcare and essential services.
- Across the region, humanitarian systems are already stretched. A wider conflict risks overwhelming them completely.
Kieran, Flutra, and/or Angela can speak to:
- The long-term psychological toll of conflict on children, including how even distant explosions can retraumatise those who have already lived through war.
- The erosion of compliance with International Humanitarian Law across the region, and what that means in practice for civilian protection.
- How displacement disrupts not just schooling, but children’s safety, stability and long-term prospects.
- What War Child is seeing and hearing from local partners as we mobilise a regional response focused on protection, education and mental health.
Quotes from War Child’s teams on the ground across the Middle East:
Flutra Gorana, Middle East Regional Director for War Child said; “We're not reading about this in the news, we are living it. Crisis after crisis is affecting children’s lives across the region, robbing them of their safety, learning, and sense of future.”
Angela Huddleston, Regional Humanitarian Manager - Middle East, for War Child said; "Thousands of Afghan refugee children who have spent their lives in Iran are now at risk of being forced to flee to a country they don't know. The escalation of the conflict between Israel, the US, and Iran puts the futures of millions of children across the Middle East at risk, and is a very real threat to child protection, education, welfare and aid being provided to children across the region who have already faced unimaginable levels of trauma over their lifetime."
Quote from staff member in oPt (01/03): “Many shops are running out of basic items. There is no fuel, and schools are not operating. Every few hours, we hear alerts, and then we hear big explosions that shake the whole house. We do not have a safe room to run to. We try to manage our fear in front of our children, and help them calm down. Time moves so slowly here.”
Quote from staff member in Lebanon (02/03): “Overnight developments have significantly heightened risks for civilians, particularly children. Rapid displacement, damaged infrastructure, and disrupted services create immediate protection concerns, including family separation, unsafe shelter conditions, and limited access to essential support.”
War Child is urgently calling on all parties to de-escalate, respect international law, and prioritise the protection of children and families.
Please let me know if you’d like to arrange a conversation or receive further data and quotes from our team members on the ground.
Note to Editors:
- The above data has been calculated based on World Bank Group total populations data, 2024 (Ages 0-14) here.
- Total figure calculated per the total population of children (aged 0-14) in the countries impacted by the Israel, US and Iran strikes.
