South Lebanon children return to school destroyed by Israel strike

In southern Lebanon, Yara Ajami, an eight-year-old girl, began her academic year in a school that had been destroyed by an Israeli strike. The Burj Qalaway elementary school, renowned for its excellence, was hit by Israeli forces in May, just two months after Hezbollah had provoked Lebanon into the Middle East conflict by attacking the country's southern neighbor.

Despite the happy return to school, Yara expressed her disappointment at the lack of desks and chairs in her classroom. She and the other students, who returned to school after the summer break on Monday, were temporarily housed in an unfinished building under construction, which was meant to accommodate preschoolers. The school's site was littered with twisted rebar, resembling dead bushes, while the once sturdy walls had collapsed, leaving clumps of rebar jutting from the ground.

The children, who hailed from areas heavily affected by the conflict, now faced the grim reality of attending classes in a facility that still bore the scars of the Israeli strike.