Activities help displaced children in southern Lebanon cope with war trauma

Activities were held at a school-turned-shelter in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Tuesday (April 14), as part of an initiative to help displaced children cope with war trauma.

Children took part in drawing, colouring and story telling sessions, with one mother saying that “it boosts children’s morale”.

The initiative was launched by the Salam Sour Sports Club at the beginning of this conflict to support the displaced.

Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran on March 2, sparking an Israeli offensive that has killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.

In Lebanon, the dead include 252 women and 166 children, the health ministry says. Sources familiar with the matter said on March 27 that more than 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed. Hezbollah attacks have killed 13 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians since March 2, Israel says.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.

The meeting marked a rare encounter between representatives of governments that have technically been in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948. They entered the talks with conflicting agendas, with Israel ruling out discussion of a ceasefire in Lebanon and demanding Beirut disarm Hezbollah.

Production: Thomas Suen, Joelle Kozaily/Reuters