Published On ۲۱ Sep ۲۰۲۶
Hundreds of thousands of children returned to in-person classes in Gaza on Saturday for the first time in nearly three years, filing into damaged school buildings, makeshift classrooms and tents amid a severe shortage of basic supplies.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says ۹۸ percent of schools in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or damaged during Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave, while local education officials estimate about ۶۶۰,۰۰۰ students have been deprived of regular, in-person learning.
The reopening is a fragile milestone in a territory where about ۲۲,۰۰۰ students and more than ۷۷۰ education workers, including ۵۳۲ teachers, have been killed, according to Ibrahim Ramadan, director of education for eastern Khan Younis.
“The last time I have been to school was three years ago,” said student Moayed Abu Mustafa in Khan Younis. “Now, we are starting the school year; it is year of joy, happiness and success. Despite all of this, we will learn, we will learn even in a tent.”
Moayed has no proper shoes, notebook or pen, and will sit on the floor in a sweltering tent.
Across Gaza, the Ministry of Education, backed by aid agencies, has set up dozens of temporary schools from tarpaulins, sheet metal and wood. Some classrooms consist of a few mattresses and a blackboard; others still shelter displaced families.
“We studied on phones, and we haven’t seen our teachers. Now, we are back pursuing our dream … from one tent to another,” said ۱۵-year-old Samar Abu Salmi, who lives in a tent with her family and can no longer afford school supplies that were cheap before the war.
Stationery trader Khaled Aliyan said Israeli import restrictions have driven prices up fivefold. “All stationery items are expensive,” he said.
Israeli forces still control more than ۶۰ percent of Gaza despite an October ۲۰۲۵ “ceasefire” that halted large-scale fighting but left the underlying conflict unresolved.
