100,000 students affected as war damages 436 schools and educational facilities in Lebanon

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

With their initials on their belongings and innocent smiles on their faces, children fill the classrooms of Borj Qalaouiye Public Intermediate School, which the war threatened to shut down.

The Israeli army directly targeted the school.

Like a fortress, it stood on the edge of Wadi al-Hujeir, in an area considered strategically important.

Reduced to rubble by Israeli forces, Borj Qalaouiye Public Intermediate School refused to let destruction stand in the way of education. It resumed classes several weeks ago, despite continued Israeli military activity, the sound of aircraft overhead and explosions.

After the main building was destroyed, prefabricated classrooms were installed with support from the Council of the South, which operates under the prime minister’s office. Work also began on a building that had been under construction, with plans to open new classrooms to replace those that were lost.

Work continues around the clock to help students make up for what they missed during the previous academic year, not only in Borj Qalaouiye but across Lebanon, particularly in the south.

A total of 436 educational facilities sustained varying degrees of damage, including 286 in the South and Nabatieh governorates. The damage prevented around 100,000 students from returning to their schools, while the war also had a serious impact on their mental health.

According to a report by the Education Ministry, self-harm and suicide attempts accounted for 5.9% of reported forms of violence.

In Borj Qalaouiye, rebuilding classrooms means more than restoring education. It is about rekindling childhood friendships, restoring hope and building a future where every destroyed stone gives way to a new generation shaped by knowledge, ambition and resilience.