The stench of spoiled food and burned furniture greeted 19-year-old Fouad Abu Murad and his father when they returned to their home in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stark reminder of how the Israeli attacks had turned their lives upside down.

The student at the University of Notre Dame – Louaize and his family had abandoned their home in the suburb during this period Israeli bombing campaign in September.

“Seeing the place I grew up in in that state was shocking. I had never experienced that before in my life. It was straight out [a] He told Al Jazeera that it was a horror movie, adding that his house “smelled of corpses.”

Abu Murad said he searched his destroyed home in early October for school supplies — his laptop and other necessities — because his university in the northern coastal city of Zouk Mosbeh was starting courses again.

The learning and futures of Lebanese students have been disrupted by the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, displacing nearly half of the country’s 1.25 million students, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Education.

A Temporary ceasefire The agreement between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah was implemented on November 27, but only after months of bombings that left a psychological impact on young people like Abu Murad. Now he and other students are trying to return to their usual routine and focus on passing their exams.

Abu Murad, who is studying hospitality and tourism management, is just one of hundreds of thousands of young people in Lebanon whose lives – and education – have been turned upside down by the conflict.

“Nights from Hell”

November 18 is a day that Sajid Salem will never forget.

The 23-year-old South Lebanese national lived alone on campus while attending Saint Joseph University in Beirut, located in the capital’s Achrafieh district.

That week, Israeli forces had been bombing Beirut for days, what Salem called “nights of hell.”

Despite intense bombing, in-person classes have resumed, and on Monday, he was sitting in a culinary arts class when explosions occurred nearby. Explosions rocked the building and the desks in the classrooms.

“I was having sex with myself. I was crying and screaming,” Salem told Al Jazeera.

‘Huge psychological toll’

According to Maureen Philippon, Country Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Lebanon, living through conflicts like these hinders academic progress and psychologically burdens students.

“The constant exposure to violence, displacement and loss leaves us [students] Philippon told Al Jazeera, “Children suffer from extreme stress and anxiety, which impairs their ability to concentrate, learn, and retain information,” adding that “the psychological toll is enormous.”

These effects continue even after the conflict ends.

She said: “In Tyre, I saw children who were terrified when they heard the sound of a plane, and they put their hands on their ears and looked around in a state of panic,” referring to the city in southern Lebanon that was heavily bombed by Israel.

Exams in wartime

After explosions shook the walls of his classroom, Salem fled on the same day to the Chouf in central Lebanon, where some of his relatives took refuge.

“I called my cousin. I told him to come here immediately and pick me up.”

The village of Doueira, where Salem lives, in southern Lebanon, was among the first villages to be bombed When Israel escalated the war Salem said that his mother and siblings were trapped in their home due to the raids.

Alone in Beirut, he was unable to contact them by phone until the next day, a painful experience he said he would not wish on his “worst enemy.”

After leaving for the Chouf, Salem’s problems did not end. He continued to study despite the bombings, and was forced to return to Beirut at least once or twice a week to take exams.

Salem said that during the ongoing bombing, his teacher was still giving an exam despite the students’ requests to postpone the exam. He and several of his colleagues failed the test.

“The exam wasn’t that easy. It is [the teacher] Salem said. “I don’t know why. So we told him: ‘Look at the situation. Please make it a little easier for us.’

Right to education

While Salem was unhappy with his teacher’s actions, experts said teachers are essential in helping students adapt to the challenges of war.

However, Philippon noted that conflicts also affect teachers, making it essential for governments and humanitarian agencies to provide support and resources.

According to Ahmed Al-Talili, an associate professor of educational technology at Beijing Normal University whose research focuses on education in war zones, international law does not adequately protect education during war.

While international humanitarian law protects children’s right to education in armed conflicts, Al-Talili said these laws are usually not implemented.

He added: “This underscores the need for concerted efforts to ensure that international laws protecting education, especially in war zones, are not just rhetorical gestures but are actively supported, allowing equitable access to education for all, even in the midst of conflict.” The island.

International humanitarian law also prohibits attacks on schools and universities, and classifies such actions as war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the experts said.

Al-Talili said that ensuring the provision of education during wars falls on the responsibility of those outside war zones, providing an example of the opportunities available to some students from Gaza.

“We can see that in [the case of Gaza]He explained that many Arab universities have opened their doors to enroll Palestinian students without any restrictions.

“We have also seen that many international course providers have waived course access fees for Palestinian students and teachers, allowing them to freely access educational resources and learning materials.”

“Art and studies are our future”

Abu Murad feels that the struggle to learn during the conflict was “unfair” to him and his fellow students.

They spent their nights in terror, worrying about whether they would ever see each other or their families again when they should have been focusing on “art, studies, and our future.”

He said he hopes some normalcy will return to Lebanon.

“We don’t know what might come next,” Abu Murad said, “but we have to try to move forward normally.”

Others, like Salem, said that living in southern Lebanon in particular has not been “normal” since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza. Even with the ceasefire, The violence did not stopIsrael is accused of violating the agreement hundreds of times.

And now with Overthrowing Bashar al-Assad In December in neighboring Syria, Salem became unsure about what would happen next.

Salem said: “I am happy for our Syrian brothers and sisters who gained their freedom from the Assad regime and from everything, but we have to pay attention to what comes next. … It is [going to] It affects us as Lebanese.”