BEIRUT, July 12 (Reuters) - The alleged abuse of toddlers at a daycare in crisis-stricken Lebanon has sparked alarm over the physical and emotional wellbeing of children in the country, where a nearly four-year economic meltdown is seeping into all aspects of life. The videos - shot on a mobile phone months ago but only recently circulated on social media - prompted an outcry from parents. Lebanon's health ministry meanwhile said in an online statement on Tuesday that it had shut down the daycare after carrying out a "rapid investigation" into the alleged violence. "This closure is not enough, and the punishment must be a lesson," the statement quoted minister Firas al-Abiad as saying. "That was just the tip of the iceberg, what we saw this week at the nursery," Higgins said.

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Persons: Tatiana Tannous Hachem, Hachem, Firas, Ettie Higgins, Higgins, Emilie Madi, Rajaa bint Talal, Maya Gebeily, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Reuters, Internal Security Forces, United Nations, UNICEF, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Beirut