For the First Time in Three Years, Gaza Students Return to In-Person Learning
Hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza returned to in-person learning on Saturday (19/09/2026) for the first time in almost three years. However, educational activities are taking place in damaged school buildings, emergency structures, and tents.
For many families, uniforms, notebooks, and stationery remain difficult to purchase. UNICEF reports that 98 per cent of schools in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged as a result of the war. Meanwhile, Gaza education officials state that approximately 660,000 students have lost the opportunity for direct learning and are unable to attend school regularly.
The reopening of schools marks a fragile milestone for Gaza following a conflict that, according to Ibrahim Ramadan, Director of Education for East Khan Younis, has claimed the lives of approximately 22,000 students and over 770 education sector workers, including 532 teachers.
“The last time I went to school was three years ago. Now we are starting a new academic year. This is a year full of joy, happiness, and success,” said Moayed Abu Mustafa in Khan Younis.
Mustafa is determined to continue his studies even though he must sit on the floor of a tent that lacks ventilation. He also lacks proper shoes, notebooks, and pens, and has lost several friends during the war.
“Despite all of this, we will learn. We will learn even inside a tent.”
Samar Abu Salmi, a 15-year-old student who is displaced and currently living with her family in a tent, has also returned to classroom learning.
“We have been learning via mobile phones and were not meeting our teachers. Now we are back to pursuing our dreams… from one tent to another,” she said in the courtyard of her new emergency school.
She also lacks many of the necessary school supplies, as prices have become unaffordable for her family.
“Before the war, everything was available to us—notebooks, pens, necessities, clothing, recreation, and various things that we could obtain cheaply,” said Salmi.