Lebanese residents fleeing Israeli attacks take shelter in schools

TYRE, Lebanon

Thousands of Lebanese fleeing the ongoing conflict between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon since Oct. 8 have taken refuge in schools, according to officials.

Fighting and airstrikes continue along the 120-kilometer (75-mile) mountainous border between Lebanon and Israel.

Residents of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon near the border, and those in the South Governorate, are among the most affected by the fighting.

Some families have left their homes since the first day of the clashes and moved to relatives in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Families who did not have anywhere to go settled in state-owned schools.

Families and officials who took refuge in schools in the southern province of Tyre, which was the most affected by the clashes in Lebanon, shared their experiences with Anadolu.

More than 4,500 internal migrants in Tyre

Deputy Mayor of Tyre, Hassan Hammoud, said the city has set up a crisis room for families who want to be evacuated from the border area at the request of the Lebanese government.

He said migration from villages and towns located on the border started the first day clashes broke out.

"The number of registered internal migrants coming to the city of Tyre from the border line is 5,100,” he said.

“Some of them have crossed to other cities of Lebanon, such as Beirut. However, the number of internal migrants staying in Tyre is currently 4,500,” he said.

Hammud said a significant portion of internal migrants are placed in state-owned schools, while some rent houses with their own means.

All schools and universities in southern Lebanon have been closed since Oct. 10 due to the increased security threat.

One of the schools that closed and welcomed internal migrants is the vocational school.

"We have been here for 11 days. Our house is right next to the area where the attacks took place," said Fatma Abbas, who left her home Oct. 8 with her family of six and could not return.

She had difficulty speaking, lamenting that her family did not know what to do or where to go.

Families who are trying to create a living space with pieces of furniture they took with them and beds they laid out on tables, are struggling to survive with limited means.

Internal migrants, including those who are sick and in need of care, most of whom are children and the elderly, have difficulty meeting their most basic needs.

Families emphasize that the most difficult situation they have at school is a lack of bathrooms.

The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when the Palestinian group, Hamas, initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.

Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Officials said that more than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the conflict.

A humanitarian convoy of 20 trucks began Saturday to enter the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing -- the first since the conflict was renewed earlier this month.

*Writing by Merve Berker