Thousands of children in Lebanon remain displaced ahead of the school year
Thousands of children in southern Lebanon still cannot return to their homes because of the war between the Israeli military and the Hezbollah group. Some families are living in public schools converted into temporary shelters ahead of the new school year, which is due to begin on September 15. This was reported by Asharq Al-Awsat, citing Reuters.
A school in the city of Tyre is housing about 200 families who fled the coastal village of Mansouri after Israeli strikes. The shelter's residents do not know where they will live after classes resume and fear that their children will not be able to make up for schooling missed because of the fighting.
More than 340,000 people have not returned home
According to Lebanon's Ministry of Health, Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people since March 2, including over 250 children. Another 12,000 people have been wounded, including about 1,000 children. At the peak of the fighting, more than one million people were displaced — nearly a quarter of the country's population.
Most displaced people have already returned, but more than 340,000 people remain internally displaced. Their communities were destroyed or are located in territory occupied by the Israeli military.
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Twenty-seven-year-old Rula al-Awad, who also fled Mansouri with her two children, said that due to her lack of education, she cannot help her daughter with online classes. She brings the child a pen and paper so that she can at least continue writing, but fears she will not be able to pay for textbooks and a school uniform.
Schools damaged or still serving as shelters
Nearly 80 public schools in Lebanon were still being used as shelters ahead of the school year. According to the Ministry of Education, nearly half of them have already been vacated for classes to resume. About 30 institutions will operate partially, hosting displaced people at the same time, while nine schools will remain fully occupied as shelters.
Another 50 public schools were destroyed or seriously damaged during the war, while more than 200 sustained moderate or minor damage. The UN said the war's impact on schools could put the school year at risk for at least 100,000 children.
Lebanon's Minister of Education Rima Karami said she seeks to ensure that as many students from the south of the country as possible can continue their education — in their home communities if it is safe, or in places of displacement. Save the Children, which supports the school in Tyre, stressed that only a lasting ceasefire can resolve the crisis.
