300 thousand children fled from Lebanon to Syria

Over the past seven weeks, 300,000 children have fled the escalating conflict from Lebanon to Syria, Save the Children reports.

Most of the children have set out alone, separated from their parents or families, and are at risk of the approaching winter, violence, food shortages and disease.

According to estimates, 70 percent of those moving from Lebanon to Syria are Syrians, the rest are Lebanese or other nationalities. According to UN estimates, approximately 60 percent of children and adolescents are in dire need of medical care, shelter, food and water.

At least 1.2 million people, a fifth of the total population, have been displaced in Lebanon since Israel began bombing southern Lebanon and Beirut, as well as 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled the conflict in their country 13 years ago and sought refuge in Lebanon.

Maysa, a 28-year-old Syrian refugee who lived in Lebanon with her husband and two young children, had to flee violence again and moved to Syria.

"The conflict that started in Lebanon brought this horror. Living in a tent where any bullet could penetrate, we were terrified by the sounds of bombs and gunfire. We saw buildings being destroyed, heard screams, people fleeing from bombings, we witnessed terrible events and situations that we will never forget. ", he said.

To make matters worse, displaced children and their families are coming to a country that has been hit by 13 years of conflict, subsequent humanitarian and economic crises, and a devastating earthquake a year ago that affected 38 percent of the population. Currently, approximately 16.7 million people are in need of assistance in Syria alone. That's more than 72 percent of the population and the highest level since the crisis began in 2011. About 45 percent of those in need are children.

"It is very cold at night, there is nothing to warm my children. My son is sick with a cold, he has flu and cold all over his body. We have little food left," Maysa explained.

Rasha Muhrez, director of Save the Children Syria, said that many of these children and families who came to Syria from Lebanon made the same journey in the opposite direction several years ago. In contrast, the humanitarian situation in Syria is dire, food prices have nearly doubled over the past year, and the minimum wage covers only 16 percent of the basic food basket.

"At the moment, half a million children in Syria are suffering from acute malnutrition and need care and treatment to save their lives," he said.