Middle East: Civilian death toll climbs in Gaza, Lebanon and West Bank as UN chief demands ‘the fighting must stop’
By R Anil Kumar
New York/Bengaluru. Violence and civilian casualties are rising across the Middle East – from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza to continued hostilities in Lebanon and the West Bank – UN agencies reported on July 31, 2026 as the Secretary-General declared “the fighting must stop”.
The on-going Conflicts
Israeli hostilities and demolitions continued in southern Lebanon, where at least 4,329 deaths and 12,233 injuries were recorded since 2 March, with 349 fatalities and 229 injuries since the latest ceasefire announcement, the UN relief agency, OCHA, reported.
Over the past five months, more than 4,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured across six countries, including 2,500 in Iran as US bombing continues, with 386 killed and 2,117 injured, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Hamas and US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace reached agreement on disarmament and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of plans following the Hamas-Israel October 2025 ceasefire, UN chief António Guterres noted on Friday.
In Gaza, Israel has killed 1,180 Palestinians and injured 3,810 others between the October 2025 ceasefire and 22 July 2026, and this week, continued airstrikes and gunfire, restricted aid entry and made further advances of the so-called “yellow line” marking Israeli’s line of control across multiple areas, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli attacks have killed 1,122 Palestinians, at least 246 of them children, between the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 and 24 July 2026, with 76 killed since the beginning of this year, according to the latest OCHA casualty report.
Youngest victims
As the US and Iran continue to trade strikes and counterstrikes in Iran and neighboring countries, children continue to be killed and maimed in the places where they should be safest – their homes, schools and communities, UNICEF’s acting director for the Middle East and North Africa Abdul Fofana said in a statement.
“In Qeshm Island, off the southern coast of Iran, a two-year-old child was reportedly killed alongside the child’s parents after a strike hit a residential building,” he said, reiterating UNICEF’s call on all parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law. “This latest incident is yet another stark reminder that children across the region continue to pay the heaviest price.”
Ceasefires must be respected and “parties to the conflict should not normalise the suffering of children, who remain at the sharpest end of conflicts they did not start and have no power to stop.”
Gaza airstrikes, West Bank violence
Israeli airstrikes and gunfire peppered a deteriorating operating environment in Gaza, with “a significant escalation in hostilities observed in the humanitarian area”, known as the “green zone”, situated west of the so-called “yellow line” of control designated by Israeli forces, UNRWA reported.
Israeli restrictions on goods entering Gaza are also posing challenges.
Fuel, engine oil and spare parts restrictions have made more than half of UNRWA’s fleet unable to operate and have affected 62 water wells.
UN chief calls for ceasefire in the Gulf
What began as a regional conflict is increasingly becoming a driver of global instability, disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz, driving up food and energy prices, straining supply chains and increasing the risk of hunger and poverty worldwide, Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday following his visit to the region.
“Throughout my visits and in my ongoing outreach with leaders, one message is impossible to ignore: the region and the world cannot afford more war,” he said.
“Let me be clear: the fighting must stop. International navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab [off the Yemeni coast at the mouth of the Red Sea] must be fully restored and diplomacy must prevail.”
In the past week, the Iran-backed Houthis which control much of Yemen have blockaded Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, reportedly striking Saudi tankers.
Syria’s recovery
Turning to his visit to Syria, Mr. Guterres said stronger support must be shown for the country’s recovery after years of war.
“I saw a country beginning to emerge from years of devastation,” he said.
“The international community must match that hope with action, including the full lifting of sanctions and sustained support for recovery.”
