About 140,000 children have been displaced from strikes in Lebanon, Save The Children says

 Israeli strikes on Lebanon over the past four days have displaced about 140,000 children “with many arriving at shelters showing signs of severe distress,” Save the Children, a humanitiarian organization, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Over 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday in the latest escalation in cross-border violence, with numbers expected to increase in the coming days,” the statement added.

Dr Firass Abiad, Lebanon’s health minister, told CNN earlier on Thursday that he estimates there are likely 400,000 to 500,000 internally displaced people, much higher than officially recorded figures. He said authorities only know how many people have been internally displaced to official shelters but there are “multitudes” that have also fled to stay with relatives, friends or the homes of strangers who have offered them accommodation.

Save the Children staff expressed concern over the psychological impact of the conflict on children, “many of whom are showing signs of severe distress due to the displacement and constant shelling,” according to the statement.

The humanitarian group also expressed concerns about the closure of many schools across Lebanon, saying it has impacted “all of the country’s 1.5 million children, with Lebanon’s already critical mental health crisis worsening as the hostilities continue to escalate,” the statement said.

“Children are telling us that danger is everywhere, and they can never be safe. Every loud sound makes them jump now. Many children’s lives, rights, and futures have already been turned upside down and now their capacity to cope with this escalating crisis has been eroded.”