Children in Gaza have begun returning to school for a new academic year, but many are entering classrooms that remain damaged and lack basic equipment after years of war.
At a school in Nuseirat operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, some classrooms have no desks, forcing pupils to sit on blankets spread across the floor. Other classrooms contain old desks that survived the fighting.
For many children, the return to school marks a return to a routine that was disrupted by repeated displacement and violence. Since the war began, some have spent long periods fleeing attacks, searching for water and food, or living in temporary shelters instead of attending classes and spending time with friends.
For some families, however, the reopening of schools has brought a welcome sense of normalcy.
“I arrived to find a normal school environment—as much as was possible—with a morning assembly and a warm welcome from the administration,” said Asmaa Al-Hour, whose two children attend the school.
She said her son was excited to return and had been waiting since dawn, while her daughter, now in fourth grade, had spent much of the past three years wishing she could return to school.
UNRWA said more than 280,000 children are currently attending its schools and educational tents across Gaza.
Tawfiq al-Hourani, head of UNRWA’s education programme, said the agency hopes to improve learning conditions and restore schools to the state they were in before the war.
He said UNRWA previously operated 182 fully equipped schools, but more than 95 percent have been lost or severely affected, while some remaining facilities continue to house displaced families.
Schools resumed operations last November following an October ceasefire, but Gaza’s education system remains under significant pressure. Many school buildings are damaged, while others continue to serve as shelters.
According to UNICEF, around 700,000 children aged four to 17 in Gaza had missed formal in-person education for almost three years as of April. About 420,000 had not received any face-to-face schooling since October 2023.
