More than half a million children in Gaza return to in-person learning — ABC News Australia
In the Gaza Strip, Palestine, more than half a million children were able to return to in-person learning for the first time in three years last week. Classes are resuming in municipal schools, private premises, online and at schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, ABC News Australia reports.
Six-year-old Wurud Mughrabi set out for her first day of school with a new pink backpack, which was empty due to shortages of pens, pencils and notebooks. She and her mother live at a UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp after leaving their home in the north of Gaza City.
Damaged schools and lack of equipment
According to UNICEF, more than 625,000 students in Gaza had no regular in-person classes from October 7, 2023. Nearly 98% of school buildings in the strip are damaged, while more than 93% require major rehabilitation or complete reconstruction.
In some classrooms, children sit on the floor because of a lack of desks; in others, they use furniture damaged during the fighting. UNICEF representative Toby Fricker noted that these conditions do not resemble a typical school, but structured classes allow children to be with their friends and teachers.
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UNICEF said it was able to deliver educational materials to Gaza for the first time since the start of the war in February 2026. The organization distributed more than 290,000 school backpacks and 38,000 individual stationery kits, but the need for them exceeds available supplies.
Learning in tents and danger for children
Teacher Samaher Uweida holds classes in a tent in Deir al-Balah. UNRWA estimates that more than a quarter of a million children are studying in similar tents or severely damaged classrooms. According to the teacher, students are often more concerned with finding water than with lessons, and the heat in the tents makes it difficult for them to concentrate.
UNRWA Director in Gaza Sean Jones said that the situation in the strip remains dangerous despite the ceasefire: students are injured by bullets ricocheting off walls, and sometimes they are killed. According to UNICEF, more than 64,000 children in Gaza have reportedly been killed or injured since October 7, 2023.
About 200,000 children are still not covered by education, UNICEF estimates. Among them is Bilal al-Gharabli, who has severe health problems and attended an adapted private school before the war. His mother fears the danger on destroyed roads and cannot send her son to school.
