Children standing on a metal tube

When a Ceasefire Doesn’t Bring Peace.

The 27th of November marks one year since a ceasefire came into effect to end the war and bring peace to Lebanon.

On paper, it promised calm, the opportunity for families to rebuild their shattered lives. To move on from the loss and destruction. In reality, it has been a year of broken promises. A year in which violence has continued and children have continued to pay the highest price.

The rules of war, the very foundations of humanitarian law, seem to matter less and less, and not just in Lebanon but in Gaza, Sudan and other countries around the world too. Perhaps the most chilling part is how little this has made the news. The silence is not peace, it’s a symptom of how normalised violations of international law and peace agreements have become.

In Lebanon, the consequences of the fractured ceasefire are written into the lives of families who have already lived through far too much. In recent weeks, the country has suffered some of the worst waves of strikes since the truce.

At least 127 people have been killed in ongoing Israeli strikes, including 16 children with many more injured and Israeli forces continue to occupy five locations in southern Lebanon. These numbers should stop the world in its tracks.

Two members of War Child staff standing on rubble
Photo taken by Sharron Lovell

Families describe life lived between explosions and displacement. “As expected, everything was destroyed in the South. And yet we are still here,” said Anissa, a mother in southern Lebanon. She has lived through war before. “I witnessed the 2006 Lebanon war. I was a mother of two then. It was nothing like this war. This one was the most horrific I’ve ever witnessed.” 

The strikes continue to damage homes, schools and any sense of security children are trying to rebuild. In January 2025, 72% of caregivers said their children felt anxious or nervous; 62% said their children were depressed or sad. Many hoped the ceasefire would bring relief, but for countless children the fear had become a part of daily life. 

Education has been impacted too. Since the ceasefire more than a nearly 500,000 children remain out of school, their classrooms damaged, unreachable or simply unaffordable. Families who once budgeted for uniforms and notebooks, now struggle to afford feeding themselves and their children due to the impact on the economy. 

Regions like Baalbeck and Bekaa continue to be repeatedly hit by airstrikes. Adding to the insecurity, food poverty is sharply rising. In some areas, nearly half of children under 18 reported they had eaten only one meal the day before. 

One year on from a ceasefire that has been anything but. More than 4 million people now require humanitarian support in a country of 5.8 million. Through it all, parents like Anissa hold on to one truth: “children should not bear the responsibility, or the consequence of wars committed by adults.” 

The international community must ensure that ceasefire agreement is honoured by all sides and that the violence ends. Lebanon’s children cannot afford another year of silence from the world while the bombs continue to fall.