Clashes at Lebanon-Israel Border Disrupts Education of Children

(FILES) The entrance of a public school is decorated with mural paintings, in Beirut on September 21, 2023. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
(FILES) The entrance of a public school is decorated with mural paintings, in Beirut on September 21, 2023. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
TT

Clashes at Lebanon-Israel Border Disrupts Education of Children

(FILES) The entrance of a public school is decorated with mural paintings, in Beirut on September 21, 2023. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
(FILES) The entrance of a public school is decorated with mural paintings, in Beirut on September 21, 2023. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Clashes on Lebanon’s southern border against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war have exacerbated an education crisis in country that has been in the throes of a major economic meltdown for the past four years, UNICEF said Wednesday.

A survey of Lebanese as well as Syrian and Palestinian refugee households living in Lebanon conducted by the UN agency in November found that 26% of households had school-aged children who were not attending school, up from 18% in April.

Syrians reported the highest prevalence of children out of school, at 52% of households, followed by Lebanese at 13% and Palestinians at 7%.

While the “cost of education materials” was the most-cited reason, UNICEF said, thousands of children were also out of education due to disruptions related to ongoing fighting on the border between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

The clashes have killed about 130 people in Lebanon, including 17 civilians, according to a tally by The Associated Press, and have displaced nearly 59,000, according to the International Organization for Migration.



Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
TT

Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)

Egypt said on Tuesday it plans to offer a "comprehensive proposal" to rebuild Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land, according to a foreign ministry statement.

It said it is looking forward to cooperating with US President Donald Trump to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.

The statement comes as Trump continues to press for his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan despite vehement rejection from Arab states.

Egypt rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported on Tuesday, citing Egyptian sources.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state-owned al-Mamlaka TV on Tuesday that there is an Egyptian-led Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its people.

Trump said earlier on the same day that he believed there would be a parcel of land in Jordan, Egypt and someplace else where Palestinians can be resettled.

Trump has infuriated the Arab world by saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, which has been devastated by an Israeli offensive.

"We're going to take it. We're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it. We're going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East," Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, saying his plan would "bring peace" to the region.

King Abdullah said later that he reiterated to Trump Jordan’s "steadfast position" against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as in the occupied West Bank that borders his country.