Save the Children Demands Immediate Protection for All Children as Violence Escalates Across the Middle East and the Wider Region

Save the Children calls for the protection of all children and civilian infrastructure, especially schools and hospitals, following the escalation of violence in the Middle East and wider region, with reports of more than 100 children killed in strikes on two schools in Iran.

The humanitarian organization is urgently calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities to ensure the safety and well-being of children.

While hostilities are ongoing, all parties must adhere to their obligations under international law by ensuring that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, are spared from attack.

Janti Soeripto, President & CEO of Save the Children US, said:

“Children should never pay the price when conflict escalates. And yet, once again, they are. When schools are struck and hospitals overwhelmed, children lose their safety and stability overnight.

“Many children in the region have already lived through years of conflict and are now facing the terrifying impact of more, threatening their safety, robbing them of their childhood and pulling them away from classmates and opportunities to learn.

“We have worked with children in crisis for more than a century, and we know the damage does not stop with what is visible: Fear and trauma can shape a child’s future long after the immediate danger passes, leaving lasting scars.

“All parties must act now to protect children. Not tomorrow. Now. Every hour of delay is another child’s life — or future — at risk. We call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, uphold their obligations under international law, and ensure that schools, hospitals, and the children within them do not become targets. They never should be.”

Save the Children is the world’s largest independent child rights organization, working in about 110 countries to save and improve children’s lives. The organization is not active in Iran.

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we’ve been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming the future we share.