- Fatima, 4, has lost her home twice due to war in Lebanon and Israel attacks
- Over 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, 19,000 children are displaced daily, UNESCO said
- Refugees in Beirut camps face poor sanitation, no washing facilities, and food shortages
Fatima is too young to understand the magnitude of tragedy that has hit her family as she finds a moment of joy while cycling in rainy Beirut. It is the second time in two years the four-year-old lost her home. With the war in Lebanon displacing more than a million people, thousands of children like Fatima face an uncertain future.
The family, living in a makeshift tent on the pavements of Beirut, said their hometown Kfarkela near the Lebanon-Israel border was the first to come under intense Israeli attack on March 2.
Six months before the village was razed, the child was admitted to a kindergarten. She will never be able to go back, because Israel has already raised its flag over the flattened Kfarkela.
More than 1.2 million people have been uprooted from their homes and villages across Lebanon - for a second time in 15 months. UNICEF says 19,000 children, boys and girls, are displaced every day. They are sleeping on pavements in makeshift tents. And, as Israel appears to be determined to annex South Lebanon, people are unsure if they will ever see their hoes again.
At a refugee camp in Beirut, people are living in sub-human conditions - without sanitation, washing facilities and even food.
Sahira Dawood, a student of Class 9, said: "I am displaced from Khaim... there are no bathrooms, no place to change clothes. Tents are often blown away by wind and rain. We can't eat and drink properly... There is no place to take a shower... We can't pray... we don't have proper clothes".
"It is so difficult to live in such conditions," she said.
Her home has been destroyed. She has no idea if her school still stands. Her last school was destroyed too - in the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023.
Even so, she hopes to return to home as soon as possible. "We used to live a good happy life. but after displacement, it is misery and hardship. my school has also been bombed," she said.
In Beqqa valley, children appeared happy that they have found shelter inside a school building after their homes came under attack in south Lebanon.
After Khaim village, the Israel border has become a fierce battleground between Israel and Hizbollah, Zaher Rhayel fled home with his wife and three children. Now, living in a small room, he is not sure if his family will ever be able to return.
Israel has declared that it will annex the land south of the Litani river and Khaim village. They want to demolish the houses and turn the area into a security buffer zone.
15-year-old Jawad said during last war in 2023 -2024, his school in Khaim was bombed. He is not sure if the new school where he was admitted exist anymore.
Very little help is on way for these displaced children. Despite Hizbollah claims that they, along with the Lebanese government, are helping the people, Zaher said no help has reached them.
"In the first place, the government is helping the refugees. We -- along with Hizbollah and Islamic resistance -- are taking care of all of them. Some NGOs are also helping. Above all, the people are helping," said Rami Abu Hamdan, MP and Hizbollah leader.
