Statement by the *Gathering of Families of Child Martyrs in Lebanon* Against the Zionist Israeli Mas

Statement by the *Gathering of Families of Child Martyrs in Lebanon* Against the Zionist Israeli Massacre in the southern Lebanese village of Ansar- August 15, 2026

The Gathering of Families of Child Martyrs in Lebanon condemns the new massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces at dawn today, 15 August 2026, against a family in the southern Lebanese town of Ansar. The massacre resulted in the killing of Ali Al-Hajj Hassan, Zeinab Nasser Al-Din, and their children Zahraa, Hassan, Hussein and Abbas.

From the shared place of pain that unites us as fathers and mothers who have lost their children, we extend our deepest condolences to the martyrs' family. We affirm that their children are not numbers in a record of massacres. Each one of them had a face, a story, a dream, and a life that should have continued.

We, the families of child martyrs, know what it means to have a child torn from our arms. We therefore cannot accept that the killing of Lebanese children becomes a scene that is repeated, only to be forgotten. We will not become accustomed to the killing of our children, nor will we allow their targeting to become normalized.

From this position, we call on our people across Lebanon to stand in solidarity with the martyrs’ families, because the blood of a Lebanese child belongs to no one region over another.

We also call on the Lebanese state to assume its full responsibilities, to document this massacre and all crimes targeting civilians and children, and to urgently refer them to regional and international human rights and judicial bodies, ensuring that evidence is preserved and that those responsible are pursued through all available legal paths.

We call on the Lebanese authorities to take practical and firm measures to protect civilians, and to build a unified national position that safeguards Lebanon and its people's right to defend themselves in the face of brutal Israeli aggression, while preventing the enemy from exploiting any existing "understandings" or frameworks to justify the continued assault on the Lebanese people.

We further call on the media to assume its ethical and professional responsibility by placing the issue of child martyrs at the forefront of its coverage and documenting their stories, names and faces. We also call for clear language condemning the criminal enemy responsible for killing children, rather than promoting its claims, even indirectly.

We affirm that Lebanon and its people have an inherent right to defend themselves against aggression, and that this is first and foremost the responsibility of the state. Otherwise, the state would be relinquishing its sovereignty.

We will not become accustomed to the killing of our children, and we will not allow them to be reduced to numbers. May the blood of our children become a force for uniting the hearts and will of all Lebanese people, in defense of human life, of Lebanon and of the future of every child in Lebanon.