Israeli occupation leaves Lebanese children without schools
Thousands of displaced families remain trapped in shelters as Israeli forces occupy southern areas and destroy homes and schools
TYRE, Lebanon (MNTV) — Thousands of displaced Lebanese families remain sheltering in public schools as the new academic year approaches, with Israel’s continued military presence and destruction across southern Lebanon leaving many children uncertain whether they will be able to return home or resume normal schooling.
Around 200 families are currently living inside a school in the southern coastal city of Tyre, many having fled villages that have been destroyed or remain under Israeli military control.
Among them is 11-year-old Fatima Khashab, whose family comes from Mansouri in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s school year is scheduled to begin on Sept. 15, but thousands of displaced people are still occupying public schools.
With negotiations involving Israel and Lebanon stalled, there is little immediate prospect of a political settlement that would allow many families to safely return to their homes.
The consequences of Israel’s military campaign are extending far beyond physical destruction, with Lebanon’s already fragile education system facing another severe disruption.
At the height of the conflict, approximately half of Lebanon’s public schools were being used as shelters, affecting the education of more than 250,000 students, according to a report by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.
Save the Children estimates that Lebanese children have suffered at least four years of cumulative learning loss. Nora Ingdal, the organization’s Lebanon director, said the educational gap has become so severe that a sixth-grade student may now perform academically at the level expected of a second grader.
The crisis comes after years of pressure on Lebanon’s education system, which has already been weakened by the country’s economic collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Beirut port explosion and successive wars.
Nasser Yassin, director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Beirut and a former Lebanese government minister, said authorities should have prioritized alternatives to schools when establishing shelters.
He warned that using schools to accommodate displaced people risks turning an immediate humanitarian emergency into a long-term educational catastrophe.
The latest conflict has displaced about 1.2 million people at its peak. Although a fragile truce has allowed many to return, approximately 350,000 people remain displaced, according to the UN humanitarian office. Around 21,000 are still living in collective shelters.
Israel continues to occupy substantial areas of southern Lebanon and has said its forces will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed. Israeli troops have demolished homes in areas under their control and carried out strikes that Israel says target Hezbollah fighters.
For displaced residents, however, the destruction has made returning home increasingly uncertain.
Randa Al-Taki, Fatima’s mother, said residents have watched Israeli forces demolish homes in their village with bulldozers and destroy buildings through explosions and bombardment. She said she does not even know whether her family home remains standing.
Lebanon’s state news agency has reported further Israeli airstrikes and shelling in the area in recent days.
For families living in the Tyre school, the shelter provides protection but offers little privacy or dignity. Residents sleep in makeshift spaces divided by tarpaulins, while many have lost their livelihoods along with their homes.
Al-Taki’s family previously depended on cultivating zaatar and selling food on the beaches. The conflict has prevented them from harvesting the crop and eliminated their normal sources of income.
Her daughter Fatima says she misses her home, her own bed and attending school. She wants to return to a normal childhood rather than continue living in a makeshift shelter.
Lebanese education officials say they are attempting to reopen schools while accommodating families who have nowhere else to go. Around 80 schools are still being used as shelters, although many contain relatively small numbers of displaced families.
Some schools will reopen while sections remain occupied by displaced people, while other families will be moved into consolidated shelters or unused buildings.
The larger problem is the physical damage inflicted on Lebanon’s education infrastructure. About 340 schools have reportedly been damaged, including roughly 30 that have been destroyed.
Many lack the funding needed for reconstruction, while others remain inaccessible in areas under Israeli occupation.
Online education has provided an alternative for some students, but it remains difficult for displaced families. Poor internet access, inadequate electricity and a shortage of devices mean that several children in one household may have to share a single phone or computer.
Education officials say most students should be able to return to classrooms this year, although some schools will continue operating online.
For thousands of Lebanese children, however, the return to school remains inseparable from the unresolved consequences of Israel’s military campaign: destroyed communities, occupied territory, displaced families and homes that may no longer exist.
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