Toronto, ON, March 9, 2026 – Plan International remains deeply alarmed by the escalating military conflict in Iran and the Middle East, which continues to put children at grave risk. Schools in Iran’s Hormozgan and Tehran provinces have reportedly been hit amid ongoing air strikes. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas inevitably and unacceptably endangers innocent lives.

Children should never be targets or casualties of war. Ever.

As hostilities have spread across the Middle East, our teams and humanitarian partners in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza have witnessed the fallout firsthand.

Lebanon is currently among the most affected by the crisis, having come under deadly airstrikes since March 2. Already grappling with an economic crisis, the escalation in hostilities has led to heightened displacement and increasing humanitarian needs.

More than 80,000 people have been displaced in 399 collective shelters across the country, 277 of which are schools according to the Lebanon National Coordination Task Force.

Evacuation orders in Lebanon

Some 20% of Lebanon’s territory is also currently under evacuation orders affecting an estimated 900,000 people, with the number expected to increase in the coming days.

“This emergency is traumatic for people on the ground – especially children, girls and young women, who face heightened vulnerability in shelters and amid displacement. We are also already seeing significant disruption to education because of school closures,” said Alam Janbein, Plan International’s Director of Programmes for Lebanon and Syria.

Plan International has already distributed more than 600 kits across four collective shelters in the capital Beirut, containing supplies such as soap and menstrual health products. Further distributions are under way in ten more collective shelters, providing 2,000 food kits, 2,000 hygiene and menstrual health kits, and 1,500 kits with essential items such as mattresses, blankets and pillows to support more than 25,000 internally displaced people.

Large numbers of Lebanese children and their families have fled into neighbouring Syria, where even before this conflict, about 70% of the population were estimated to need humanitarian assistance. Plan International is working to meet the needs of at least 1,500 households, including providing lifesaving nutrition for the most vulnerable – particularly children and women.

Situation in Gaza worsens

The already dire situation in Gaza continues to worsen. Years of conflict have left a generation of children displaced, hungry and traumatized. Plan International is working through local humanitarian partners on the ground to scale up community kitchens; safe spaces offering child protection services and emotional care; as well as educational and recreational activities. Amid uncertainty triggered by the strikes on Iran, it is vital that humanitarian access to Gaza is guaranteed.

Impact on children across the region

While the escalation of the crisis is unlikely to result in large refugee movements directly into North and East Africa, significant indirect pressures on vulnerable populations are anticipated across Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia primarily through energy, food and transport price shocks.

Higher fuel and freight costs will increase the cost of delivering humanitarian assistance, accelerating food insecurity and displacement of people, often leading families to make terrible choices such as reducing food intake across the family, or sending children to work or into child marriages.

“Across the Middle East, civilians and children continue to pay a heavy price as hostilities escalate,” said Hajir Maalim, Plan International’s Regional Director, Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa.

“There is a clear need for a ramped-up humanitarian response to ensure that basic needs are met and to protect the dignity and future of children, especially girls. We call on all warring parties to exercise maximum restraint and uphold International Humanitarian Law.”

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Children never start wars, but they suffer the most. To support children experiencing war or other crises, please visit plancanada.ca/donate/children-in-crisis.

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NOTE TO EDITORS

While Plan International does not have operational presence in Iran, it maintains a presence in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, while in Syria and the occupied Palestinian Territory, we work through local partners to deliver vital assistance to affected populations, particularly children, adolescent girls, and young women.

About Plan International Canada

Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships with and for children for over 85 years and is active in more than 80 countries.

We stand with children, especially girls, wherever they are oppressed, exploited, left behind, or not equally valued. We’re determined optimists, and we will continue to persevere until we are all equal.

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