About 541,000 students returned to education in Gaza when the school year began on September 19, with many attending makeshift classrooms in tents after nearly three years of disruption caused by war and displacement.
In Gaza City’s al-Katiba neighbourhood, the Gaza Municipality school opened in about 10 tents. Teachers and families described the return to face-to-face learning as important but fragile, with continued insecurity and severe shortages of basic school supplies.
Learning resumes under severe constraints
The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education said the new school year brought students back to education after violence decreased, but did not end, following the October 2025 ceasefire. Israeli bombing has continued, and two students were killed earlier in September, according to the account.
UNICEF said more than 93 percent of Gaza’s school buildings required major rehabilitation or full reconstruction. Around 420,000 children had received no face-to-face learning at all during the disruption.
Key figures
- 317,332 students were attending face-to-face educational spaces, schools and initiatives in Gaza in January.
- 120,000 students were enrolled in virtual schools taught by teachers from the West Bank in January.
- Nearly 98 percent of Gaza’s school buildings had been damaged since October 2023, according to UNICEF.
- About 700,000 children aged four to 17 had missed formal face-to-face schooling for almost three consecutive school years.
Teachers rebuild classrooms with almost nothing
At one tent classroom, mathematics teacher Nesma Nahid Abu Asim taught sixth-grade students writing on a whiteboard while they sat on mattresses with notebooks. She said students often arrived without stationery or textbooks, while desks and chairs were largely unavailable.
At Ahbab Shujayea School near Gaza City’s port, more than 300 children from nine displacement camps study in worn-out tents. First- and second-grade pupils sit on the ground and use cardboard for writing because the school has no desks or chairs. Classes run from 8am to 11am because of security concerns, including shelling from the sea. Read the context: Mass funeral held in Gaza City for 50 Palestinians recovered from rubble.
School director Inaam al-Batreekhi said children sometimes arrive late after fetching water for their families. She said the school’s immediate priority was to make the temporary setting more comfortable, while hoping eventually to return classes to permanent buildings.
Families see education as a return to routine
Rana Totah, who was displaced from Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood to al-Katiba, said she prepared her sons for their first day as if it were a normal school morning. During the war, her four children’s informal learning was irregular as the family faced danger and shortages and the children helped fetch water. Related coverage: Children rescued after residential building collapses in Gaza City.
Eleven-year-old Osama Alayleh said he was happy to be back at school and hoped the year would continue without problems. He preferred a regular building with tables and chairs but said studying was the important thing.
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