GENEVA, Apr 15: Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) Anandita Philipose said that 1,355 women in Lebanon have been killed or wounded since the escalation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon last month.Speaking at a press conference for UN agencies in Geneva, Philipose explained that on Wednesday, April 8, 99 women and 31 children were killed across Lebanon, where more than 100 bombs were dropped in less than 10 minutes that day.
She said, “families are still desperately looking for loved ones. New mothers cradle newborns, uncertain if safety will ever return. Healthcare workers already exhausted are working through their own trauma to save others. The loss is immense.”
“An estimated 13,500 displaced pregnant women need urgent maternal and reproductive health care, including 1,700 that are still in southern Lebanon, which is under constant attack,” Philipose added.
Gender-based violence is threatening 620,000 displaced women and girls in Lebanon, the UNPFA representative said.
The UN official noted that the Fund’s employees were directly affected by the repercussions of this crisis. She stressed that amidst the collective shock experienced by the UNPFA team, they continue to respond to the growing and unprecedented needs in the areas of health and protection, adding that their field teams are deployed inside and outside shelters, engaging deep into southern Lebanon and hard-to-reach areas.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced Tuesday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression against the country since March 2 has risen to 2,124, with 6,921 more wounded.
