'I want this war to stop': Girl, 9, calls for end to violence from her hospital bed in Lebanon

From her hospital bed, wrapped in bandages and blankets, Mariam Kashami asked if the ITV News team on the ground were there to take her to safety

In the midst of Israel's escalating bombardment of Lebanon, the human toll continues to mount, with civilians paying the heaviest price.

Homes have been reduced to rubble, families torn apart, and medical facilities overwhelmed with the injured.

Among the wounded is nine-year-old Mariam Kashami, who is now lying in hospital in southern Lebanon.

Her leg is shattered and her arm is held together by metal pins.

Speaking to ITV News, she recalled the moment an Israeli missile struck her family home.

"I went to make a sandwich and I stepped outside to eat it, there was a huge strike and the whole house fell down.

"I was afraid. The rocks fell down on my legs."

From her hospital bed, wrapped in bandages and blankets, she asked if the ITV News team on the ground were there to take her to safety.

On Wednesday, Israel stepped up its air strikes in Lebanon, bolstered its troops on the frontline and warned more people to evacuate.

It comes in response to a blitz by Iran on Tuesday night, which saw hundreds of projectiles targeting Israel, following a series of rapidly escalating attacks between the country and Iran and its proxies.

"I want this war to stop," Mariam exclaimed.

"Maybe then everyone will go back to their home. We are really tired of this war."

But with Israel vowing a retaliation, a moment of held breath gives little relief to the people whose lives remain the currency of the war.

"You can't kill 100 people to kill one of Hezbollah," Mariam's doctor, Nasir Faran, told ITV News.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in Lebanon across the past two weeks, according to the country's health ministry, without saying how many were civilians.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters have engaged in fighting on the ground in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said eight soldiers were killed in combat on Wednesday.

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