The devastation in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of children have been killed amid relentless bombardment, has shocked the world. Yet similar dangers continue to threaten children elsewhere as attacks on schools and civilian areas place them directly in harm’s way.
From a reported missile strike on a primary school in Minab in southern Iran that killed many students, to attacks on a school and a kindergarten compound in Sudan and casualties involving children in Lebanon, recent incidents underscore how young lives are increasingly being caught in the crossfire of modern conflicts.
Humanitarian agencies say violence affecting children has also been reported in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Kuwait and Israel, highlighting the widening human cost of wars across several regions.
According to a UNICEF statement dated March 11, more than 1,100 children have reportedly been injured or killed in the intensifying Middle East (West Asia) conflict since 28 February. The figures include around 200 children reported killed in Iran, 91 in Lebanon, four in Israel and one in Kuwait. The agency warned that the numbers could rise as the violence continues to spread.
Foreign Minister of Iran Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a March 16 post that hundreds of Iranian civilians, including more than 200 children, had been killed in Israel-U.S. bombings. Earlier, Iran’s Ministry of Education Alireza Kazemi submitted a report (as of March 3) to international bodies including UNICEF and UNESCO detailing casualties among students and teachers killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on educational infrastructure at seven sites across Iran.
The ministry’s report stated: “In Minab, 168 were martyred and 110 injured; in Fars Province, one teacher and five students were martyred; in Ilam, one teacher and two students were martyred; in East Azerbaijan, one teacher was injured and two students were martyred; in Tehran, three students were martyred and two students injured; in Qazvin Province, one student was martyred; and in Tehran counties, one teacher and one student were martyred.”
The figures continue to rise in Lebanon. Ministry of Public Health, in its report dated March 16, stated that 111 children have been killed and 332 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2.
As child casualties rise across multiple conflict zones, growing voices are questioning not only why children are dying in wars, but also why the world’s response has largely been silence.
Meanwhile, children in Sudan have also been victims of attacks on schools and displacement camps amid the ongoing conflict in the country. UNICEF on March 13 said that at least eight students and a health worker were reportedly killed when reported drone strikes hit a school compound and a healthcare centre in Shukairi village in White Nile State, Sudan. Earlier incidents included a drone strike on a displacement camp in Al Sunut, West Kordofan (Sudan) that reportedly killed at least 15 children and 10 wounded in February 2026. Another attack in South Kordofan in December 2025 targeted a kindergarten, where more than 10 children aged between five and seven were reportedly killed, according to a UNICEF report.
Thousands of children have reportedly been killed in Gaza Strip, while educational infrastructure has also been severely affected during the war. The UN agency UNRWA said in February 2026 that nearly 90 percent of all school buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the war. Many of the remaining school buildings have been turned into shelters for displaced families, while children continue learning in temporary spaces or through digital programmes run by UNRWA teams.
In a report issued in March 2025, UNICEF stated: “After nearly 18 months of war, more than 15,000 children have reportedly been killed, over 34,000 reportedly injured, and nearly one million children repeatedly displaced and deprived of their right to basic services in Gaza Strip.” Conflicts have also left thousands of children without parental care. In 2024, UNICEF estimated that at least 17,000 children in the Gaza Strip were unaccompanied or separated from their parents, underscoring the long-term humanitarian consequences of armed conflict on children and their communities
In Ukraine, the war has also had a profound impact on children. According to UNICEF’s report, bombardments and long-range strikes have killed or injured more than 3,200 children since February 2022. The agency said more than 2.5 million Ukrainian children remain displaced, including hundreds of thousands inside the country and many living as refugees abroad. “More than 1,700 schools and other educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed, leaving roughly one in three children unable to attend full-time in-person classes.”
Reports have also emerged of children falling victim to such attacks in Myanmar. In a statement released in February 2026, UNICEF said it was deeply alarmed by reports that at least five children were killed and three others injured in airstrikes in parts of Myanmar.
Amid ongoing conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) on March 13 reported that at least four civilians were killed and 14 others injured, including women and children, in airstrikes in the Pul-e-Charkhi area of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Humanitarian organisations warn that attacks on schools and civilian infrastructure are devastating the lives of children growing up amid violence, displacement and disrupted education. Echoing these concerns, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said attacks on hospitals and schools must be called what they are: war crimes.
“Bombing a hospital or a school isn’t a ‘miscalculation.’ Killing a paramedic isn’t ‘collateral damage.’ Starving civilians isn’t a ‘negotiating tactic.’ These are war crimes. Full stop. Call it what it is,” said Dr Tedros in a post on X.
Reports of attacks on schools, health facilities, homes and displacement camps have also raised questions about when those responsible will be held accountable under international law by the international community.