South Lebanon pupils return to school hit by Israeli strike

Children in Burj Qalaway in southern Lebanon began the school year in unfinished classrooms after an Israeli strike destroyed their elementary school in May.

Students returning from the summer break were sent to a nearby building that was still under construction and had been intended for preschoolers. Eight-year-old Yara Ajami said pupils were happy to be back but that the school no longer had the desks, chairs and activities they had before.

School principal May Mehdi said around 250 students are registered at the 24-classroom school, compared with at least 600 before the latest war. Some pupils returned after being displaced, while others found their homes damaged or destroyed.

UNICEF said earlier this month that nearly 100,000 students in Lebanon could not return to their schools for the academic year because of damage, destruction, insecurity or displacement. It said 436 schools were damaged by the war and 37 were completely destroyed.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion killed more than 4,300 people, including 261 children, and displaced more than one million people. More than 800,000 people have returned since June, when a US-Iran memorandum of understanding and a Lebanon-Israel framework agreement significantly reduced the violence.

The Israeli army has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using civilian buildings, including schools, to launch attacks or hide weapons. Rights groups have accused Israel of possible war crimes in its war with Hezbollah, while Lebanese authorities accuse Israel of systematically destroying villages in the south.