Funeral held for victims of school shooting, as gov't vows to tighten school security

Thursday was marked by grief and frustration in southern Türkiye's Kahramanmaras City, where funerals for the school shooting victims took place, and the city came together in mourning.

At least nine people were killed and 13 others wounded in the attack on Wednesday.

The attacker, an eighth-grade student at the same school who later committed suicide, had used a photo of a U.S. mass shooter as his profile picture on social media, according to the police. The father of the gunman - a former police officer whose weapons were used - has been taken into custody.

At the funerals, families clung to coffins during prayers, many of them in tears.

"Sadly, we lost the child of our colleague. We are in indescribable pain. I hope security measures will be in place in schools and that our students can come safely, because right now, we unfortunately don't even have the strength to go to school," said Emre Kurkut, a teacher.

At the house in mourning, Mustafa Kazici grieved over his 11-year-old daughter Suranur. He said she was among the first to be shot.

"Our pain is great. These may sound like familiar words, but they are words that truly reflect this moment and what we are going through," said the father.

Details of the incident have been emerging. As the attack unfolded, some students were seen jumping out of windows on the second floor, while it's been reported that the teacher who was killed died as she shielded her students, saving others. The school is now closed - at least until Monday.

Kutay Doluzengin, a student, said he arrived shortly after the first shots and is still shaken by what he saw.

"I felt like it was a massacre. I was scared. I kept thinking, what if it had been my sibling? What if it had been me? What if it had been my friend? What I would have done," said Doluzengin.

Amid his grief, Kazici also called for stronger security measures.

"There must be a police officer at the entrance of every school for security. Just as you cannot enter shopping malls without going through X-ray screening, I believe the same should be implemented in schools. Children's bags should be checked as well," said Kazici.

The government says it plans to introduce tighter school security, increase inspections, limit access to weapons, and expand psychosocial support.

The incident took place just one day after a school shooting in the Siverek district in southeastern Türkiye's Sanliurfa Province, where a former student at the school injured at least 16 people with a shotgun on campus before taking his own life.

Funeral held for victims of school shooting, as gov't vows to tighten school security

Thousands of Lebanese people are heading back to their homes in south Lebanon after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday, despite warnings against their return.

Both the Lebanese military and the Israel Defense Forces have warned them not to rush back home, as Israeli troops have not withdrawn. Yet, thousands are on their way, celebrating what could be a fragile ceasefire as a sign of victory.

"No matter how much the enemy kills and destroys, you see the people's will. From midnight till morning and for days to come, our people insist (on staying in their land)," said Hussein Jishi, a member of the Lebanese Parliament representing Hezbollah.

Rabab Abou-Khalil, a displaced southern Lebanon resident, stood along the roadside to greet returning Lebanese, along with her sisters. They held pictures of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah.

"I'm proud that my 11 family members got martyred for this. I raise my head high in pride that our houses were demolished as a sacrifice to push the enemy away. My cousins, my husband, and my children got killed, and I still have two more, whom I am ready to sacrifice in defense of the Islamic resistance," she said.

For many returnees, the way home was blocked by a destroyed bridge, which was bombed on Thursday to prevent residents from returning. However, the road was cleared when the Lebanese military created a mud path for vehicles to cross in just a few hours.

As people head back to evacuated villages, they are seeing the scale of destruction for the first time, but it has not changed their feelings about their home.

"My neighborhood has not changed. Even if it's destroyed, it remains the same here in my heart. It's engraved there. We are a nation undefeatable. If we are martyred, we win," said Nassif Nazagh, a resident in Srifa.

In Jouaiyya, another southern municipality, the scenes of mass rubble look no different than those in Srifa, yet they tell another unique story.

"There was a morgue here, and in it were about 30 bodies of our martyrs. This was a usual strike, where they harm us. There was nothing here. Three of my colleagues were working there, and the fighter jet struck them. This makes us more persistent and stronger. It shows that we are on the right path," said Hadi Qassim, a first responder for the Islamic Health Society Jouaiyya.

Thousands return to southern Lebanon despite warnings amid fragile ceasefire

Thousands return to southern Lebanon despite warnings amid fragile ceasefire