‘We woke up stunned’: Thousands shelter in schools after fleeing Israel’s bombing of Lebanon

Public schools have opened their doors to take in some of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have fled their homes in the south and east of Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Israel has carried out relentless bombing campaigns since Monday. “We were sleeping at home, when we started hearing the sounds [of the strikes]. We quickly got up and left ... We were on the streets for two days until we managed to get in here, but we had to force our way in here,” says Aya, a young mother who was displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs. A year and three months after entering into a so-called ceasefire with Israel, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel overnight on Monday, in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “We had just gotten out of an atmosphere of war and now we’re back to war again. What can I say? May God help people,” says Tareq, who fled the Beirut suburbs on Monday with his elderly grandmother, sisters and parents. According to Lebanese health ministry figures, at least 123 people have been killed and 683 others injured in Israeli strikes across the country since Monday. Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR0fZh5SBxxMNYdg0VzRFkg/join Catch previous episodes of MEE LIVE, our biweekly news programme exploring the stories shaping our world through breaking coverage, expert analysis, and hard-hitting interviews. Originally airing Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12pm ET | 5pm BST Got a story tip or question? Reach us at [email protected] Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/MiddleEastEye Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/MiddleEastEye Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye