For the first time in three years, Gaza’s students go back to school

[Gaza Schools Resume Academic Year After Three-Year Interruption; Communities Adapt Amid Ongoing Crisis]

Gaza City, Gaza Strip

| |

Sept. 25, 2026, 12:19 p.m. ET

4 min read

In Gaza City’s Jawazat camp, students took desks and packs into classrooms this week for the first time in three years following the Palestinian war. Most left behind uniforms, backpacks, and packed meals of cucumber, hummus, and za’atar sandwiches. Those fortunate enough retained a single notebook alongside simple directions from families: Attend every lesson.

Every child carried, however, distinct recollections of how school operated before Israel’s October 2023 invasion. “We wore gray striped uniforms, enjoyed genuine lunch breaks, took notebooks for each subject separately, and visited a proper library,” recalled Rozan Ziara, age 11. “There really was a library.”

Throughout the Gaza Strip, more than half a million students reconnected with learning this week, representing the first return on classroom floors in three years since the conflict erupted. Since fighting commenced, Israeli bombardments have devastated or destroyed approximately 98% of regional schools. Textbooks and writing supplies, consumed during periods of extreme scarcity, remain critically low due to burning for fuel and new import restrictions imposed by occupiers.

Yet students and instructors alike are inventing workarounds with whatever survives. Motivated by the enduring hope in education, young learners persist despite circumstances they never imagined. “My dream is to become a doctor,” said twelve‑year‑old Mariam Helles, whom friends welcomed into seventh grade this week. She feels fortunate simply to attend a classroom, knowing countless others lack that option entirely.

A school without a roof

Nestled within Jawazat Camp—a structure assembled from rubble amid Gaza City’s ruins—education survives inside compact canvas tents dotted with holes. Each enclosure houses a dense classroom where voices clash against porous nylon barriers permeating neighbours’ spaces.

Ahmed Abu al‑Qombuzz assumed leadership after fleeing the camp in April 2024, confronting immediate concerns for his five children with no viable schooling path. “They are intelligent and creative thinkers,” he observed. “If they possess such potential, why lacks them any form of education?”

Though Mr. abou al‑Qombuz lacked formal teaching credentials, he launched outdoor instruction to reach his pupils. There were no benches, whiteboards, or morning bells; the open sky formed their ceiling. Ultimately, his effort shifted below a single relief‑provided tent.

By September of last year, the operation secured official government accreditation, enabling enrollment of roughly six hundred students from kindergarten through the final year of secondary education.

Student Jana, currently attending the tented primary level in Jawazat Camp, expresses particular nostalgia for the supplies that existed previously: a sturdy backpack, a collapsible water bottle, and a pencil case.

Improvisation in the classroom

Eight instructors residing in the camp teach fundamental disciplines—Arabic, English, sciences, and mathematics. Physical shortfalls persist though, limiting furnishings to perhaps five pieces per tent. Minimal arrangements transform reclaimed wooden pallets once storing aid parcels into rudimentary desks and seats crafted by local carpers.

Chemistry teacher Tagroeed Faraj addresses the shortage of textbooks directly; they cost three times as much as before the conflict and remain unaffordable for many students. Beyond basic pages, scientific inquiry demands equipment absent in the current setting. Consequently, Ms. Faraj frequently projects instructional videos onto screens, allowing each learner to view demonstrations remotely.

School activities unfold in concert with the camp’s continuous crises. When water convoys approach mid‑lesson, children promptly head to collection points without delay. Similar urgency emerges when distant tuk‑tuk motors signal arrival of the tikiyyah—a communal food stall serving displaced residents near school grounds.

Mariam Helles, twelve, finds solace in mastering arithmetic and harbors aspirations to pursue medical careers.

Grief echoed in the halls of education

Tragedy permeates the school environment, manifesting both visibly and invisibly throughout classroom walls.

“Younger students express themselves openly—some crumble dramatically, while others withdraw completely, seeming nearly motionless,” noted Rana Abu al‑Qoombos, who instructs mathematics and assists with therapeutic counseling.

For Rozan, a seventh‑grader enamoured with her former school’s striped uniform, the memory of losing her sixteen‑year‑old brother Mohammed stands painfully clear. In May of 2025, Jordanian forces executed him moments after he stepped outside to retrieve water, and an aerial strike claimed his life. Mahmoud, now twelve, endured multiple bereavements—the deaths of his father in 2023 and brothers Hudhiʿafa and Ahman earlier that same year—but his academic performance gradually improves, according to his mother Irtifal Hamdiyya. Nevertheless, school itself offers comfort, providing camaradeship centered on shared interests and light‑hearted topics such as television series and football fanships.

Deepen Your Worldview with Monitor Highlights

Politics with Respect Get political coverage with measured analysis.

Discover diverse perspectives in our Books Newsletter.

Enrich your life with Culture & Learning weekly features.

Stay informed of breakthrough developments via Science & Nature updates.

Cultivate spiritual insight through selected narratives delivered to your inbox.

Seek Monitor’s Insight for deeper cultural commentary on pressing global issues.

Already a Subscriber? Log in

Our editorial philosophy prioritizes honesty, hope, credibility, and constructive storytelling. Founded in 1908, The Christian Science Monitor strives to speak truth in love and aims to unite informed public discourse.

Join this mission by subscribing to receive essential journalism rooted in rigor and ethical responsibility.