South Lebanon Students Protected by Int’l Forces During Official Exams

Lebanon’s official exams for the General Secondary Certificate start on Saturday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanon’s official exams for the General Secondary Certificate start on Saturday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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South Lebanon Students Protected by Int’l Forces During Official Exams

Lebanon’s official exams for the General Secondary Certificate start on Saturday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanon’s official exams for the General Secondary Certificate start on Saturday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Every day, 18-year-old Raneem Khalifa braved shelling on her route from Kfar Hamam near Israel’s border to Nabatieh for her exams. Her goal was simple yet daunting: to reach the exam center safely and return home unharmed.

Despite her town’s daily struggles with shelling and the destruction of her family’s homes, Raneem remained resolute in pursuing her Technical Baccalaureate (BT) certificate.

She faced constant power and internet cuts, displacement, and a lack of textbooks.

Her determination to take exams rather than accept diplomas without testing reflects her strong belief: “We've sacrificed too much for everyone to get diplomas easily.”

Khalifa, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, highlighted the tough mental strain southern students face.

Lebanon began vocational and technical exams on June 21, with General Secondary exams starting this Saturday.

Despite calls to cancel, Education Minister Abbas Halabi insisted on holding exams nationwide.

Halabi announced buses secured by the ministry to safely transport General Secondary students from tense areas to exam centers, guarded by Lebanese forces and UN peacekeepers known as UNIFIL.

The measure starts Saturday for students preparing for exams.

Security sources welcomed the move, expecting it to ease student stress and ensure safe transit to exam centers from their homes.

Around 43,000 students, including 2,000 in shelling-prone areas, are set to sit for General Secondary exams.

Education Ministry sources assure that all exam centers are safely located outside combat zones, ensuring security.

An Israeli military strike targeted a building in Nabatieh housing exam centers late Wednesday, sparking tensions in Lebanon. Lebanese sources said Hezbollah has reduced military activities this week to ensure student safety for exams.

“If security authorities deem it unsafe for exams in the south, we'll cancel. Safety comes first,” said Halabi.

Responding to concerns about student safety in the south, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said: “All exam centers in the south are operating normally, with only a one percent absentee rate. This shows the resilience of southern residents staying on their land.”

High school seniors are gearing up for exams this Saturday, with many concerned about their mental state affecting their performance.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 30 Palestinians since Monday night, Palestinian media and medics said on Tuesday, as the Israeli army tightened its siege on northern areas of the enclave.

An airstrike damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the army has carried out new operations since Oct. 5, and killed at least 20 people late on Monday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.

The Gaza health ministry did not immediately confirm the toll. Four other people were killed in the central Gazan town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics said.

Palestinian health officials said six people had also been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the narrow enclave.

The Israeli military said, without giving details, that its forces had "eliminated terrorists" in the central Gaza Strip and Jabalia area. Israeli troops had also located weapons and explosives over the past day in the southern Rafah area, where "terrorist infrastructure sites" had been eliminated, it said.

Palestinians said the new attacks and Israeli orders for people to evacuate were aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia in the past month.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, the authorities in Gaza say, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins.

The war began after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.