Children in southern Lebanon return to classes this week in makeshift conditions after an Israeli strike destroys their school. Eight-year-old Yara Ajami starts the academic year in a doorless, windowless classroom following damage to her elementary school in Burj Qalaway.
According to reports, the school was struck in May, with students displaced to a nearby structure still under construction, intended for preschoolers. The temporary classrooms have unfinished elements such as unglazed windows, and there are no desks or chairs in places where school infrastructure has been lost. In and around the former site, rebar remains exposed where walls previously stood.
Outlets describe the broader setting as part of the escalation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Both accounts link the timing to Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflict and note that students come from areas heavily affected by strikes. While one emphasizes the immediate classroom conditions, the other adds direct observations from students and details of the interim venue’s unfinished state.
