New Zealanders Urged to Support Children in Lebanon Facing Renewed Danger and Fear

World Vision New Zealand is calling for urgent international action as renewed conflict in Lebanon has forced more than 94,000 people, including thousands of children, from their homes.

The surge in hostilities has centred on southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut's southern suburbs, with more than 12,000 families displaced, and numbers rising every day.

Of the 399 collective shelters established across the country, 357 (89%) are already at full capacity, leaving many families with limited options for safe accommodation.

Since the first hours of the escalation, World Vision Lebanon has reached more than 57,000 people, including more than 20,000 children, with blankets, hot meals, family hygiene kits, and mattresses among other supplies. However, humanitarian needs are expected to continue rising in the coming days, with thousands of children likely to require psychosocial support and protection services.

World Vision warns that more than one million children already in need of humanitarian assistance in Lebanon are now at even greater risk.

The Regional Directors of 14 INGOs, have also expressed their profound concern at the accelerating military escalation across the Middle East and the wider region, as they witness a dangerous expansion of violence with devastating consequences for civilians.

They say, ‘Every new strike increases the broader regional crisis that will be borne primarily by civilians, especially children and women who have already been disproportionately impacted.’

World Vision New Zealand Country Programme Manager, Andy Robinson, says the images emerging from Lebanon are devastating, but New Zealanders can help.

“Thousands of children in Lebanon have been forced to flee their homes in a very short space of time, and are facing an uncertain future, currently living in over-crowded collective shelters.

“The sound of rockets and missile explosions has become part of their childhood, which should never be normal. New Zealanders should not accept this as normal either. It’s a scary time. Right now, World Vision and other NGOs are working around the clock to support vulnerable children and families, but we urgently need more support to reach all of those who need our help."

Robinson says World Vision's teams in Lebanon responded within hours of this week’s escalation in violence, delivering hot meals and ready-to-eat food to more than 36,000 displaced people living in collective shelters, and adapting its school nutrition programme to ensure children sheltering in emergency centres have enough to eat, however needs are rapidly outpacing capacity.

"All children deserve to grow up in a community shaped by peace, not conflict. We urgently call on all parties to protect children and civilians and to prevent further harm to their safety, wellbeing and future."

Children bearing the heaviest burden.

World Vision warns that children caught in the crisis face compounding harms, including psychological trauma, disrupted schooling, family separation, and deteriorating living conditions.

Many have already lived through multiple rounds of conflict, and Lebanon's decade-long economic collapse has stripped away what little safety net remained.

Families are crowding into collective shelters where overcrowding and instability are taking a further toll on children's mental health and sense of security.

Therese Boulos, Programme Manager at World Vision Lebanon and Bekaa-Baalbek Hermel Response Manager, said:

“In the shelters, what stays with me most are the children. Many are still trying to understand why they had to leave their homes so suddenly. Some arrive cold and exhausted, clinging tightly to their parents as they step into a place that feels completely unfamiliar. In those moments, you see mothers and fathers doing everything they can to comfort their children, wrapping them in blankets, keeping them close, and trying to give them a sense of safety while so much around them feels uncertain.”

Heidi Diedrich, National Director at World Vision Lebanon, says,

“Every time families are forced to flee, children lose the little stability they have left. They leave behind their homes, schools, and sense of safety. They urgently need psychosocial support, protection, and safe spaces where they can begin to feel like children again.

“If the situation continues to escalate, thousands more children could be displaced in the coming days. We urge all parties to the conflict to de-escalate and work towards lasting peace. Lebanon’s children have already endured years of crisis, they should not be forced to face displacement, hunger, fear and trauma once again.

“Immediate support from the international community is essential to ensure humanitarian organisations such as World Vision can respond quickly and at scale to the growing needs of displaced families.”

World Vision New Zealand is scaling up its emergency response in Lebanon and is calling on the New Zealanders to help support children affected by this current spike in violence.

Funds will support food assistance, safe spaces, psychosocial support, and access to education for displaced children.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

World Vision has been present in Lebanon for more than 50 years, delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance and long-term development programmes for vulnerable children and families. The organisation works with local partners to provide emergency food assistance, education support, child protection, clean water, healthcare, and psychosocial services in some of the country’s most fragile and crisis-affected communities.

Media Contact:

For further information or to organise an interview, please contact

Ashley Miln – ashley.miln@worldvision.org.nz 020 4051 3769

Kirsty Jones - Kirsty.jones@worldvision.org.nz or (09) 580 7753