As a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict, approximately hundreds of thousands of school-aged children missed out on at least one academic year.
After the ceasefire in January, authorities were able to restore multiple schools across Gaza.
“We are attempting to recover whatever is salvageable from the educational process,” stated Mohamed al-Asouli, head of the education department in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.
Last year, 39,000 students were unable to take their final high school exam, known as Tawjihi.
During the war, some children went to online learning.
Samia Barbakh, a displaced woman from the southernmost city of Rafah, enrolled her children in a school in Khan Younis after authorities announced the reopening of certain schools this year.
“All online learning is useless because the mother is the one who is doing homework, not the child,” she said.
According to the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, over 95% of Gaza’s 564 school buildings have been damaged, with around 88% needing major reconstruction.
This has affected 785,000 school children and university students.
Nesma Zaroub, another displaced woman from Rafah, said it was challenging for her children to resume their education online, citing a lack of electricity and internet access.
“Online learning is very difficult because the mobile phone is not always charged, and we only have one mobile phone at home,” she said.
Israeli bombings and ground operations have transformed entire neighborhoods into wastelands filled with debris, with blackened building shells and piles of rubble in all directions.
Key water and electricity infrastructure is in ruins, most hospitals no longer function.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 individuals.
The war killed over 48,000 Palestinians and injured more than 111,000 others, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
The ministry claims that women and children make up the majority of the dead, but does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its casualty count.
Israel states that they have killed over 17,000 militants, without providing any evidence.
