Full Breakdown
Gaza Schools Reopen Amid Ruins: Hope and Unresolved Ideological Challenges
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
- On September 22, 2026, children attended the first day of the 2026-2027 school year at the Latin Patriarchate School inside the Holy Family Church in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, the first in-person classes in nearly three years.
- The Gaza Ministry of Education, with UNICEF support, opened dozens of temporary schools, tents and learning centres for an estimated 540,000-660,000 students.
Background & Context
- The 2023 Israel-Hamas war left 98 % of Gaza’s schools destroyed or damaged and killed roughly 22,000 students and more than 770 education-workers, including 532 teachers.
- A cease-fire in October 2025 halted major fighting but left over 80 % of the population in overcrowded shelters with severe shortages of furniture, stationery and basic materials.
Data & Statistics
- UNICEF: 98 % of schools destroyed or damaged.
- Gaza education officials (citing Ibrahim Ramadan) report 22,000 student deaths and 770 education-worker deaths.
- Expected enrollment: at least 540,000 students in makeshift schools; Reuters notes 660,000 students deprived of in-person learning.
- Notebook price surged from 3 shekels to 15 shekels.
On-the-Ground Reports
- Moayed Abu Mustafa, a student in Khan Younis, said, “The last time I have been to school was three years ago. Now, we are starting the school year, it is year of joy, happiness and success.”
- Samar Abu Salmi, a 15-year-old displaced student, recalled studying on phones and added, “Before the war, everything was available for us – notebooks, pens, goods, clothes, outings, things that we could get cheaply.”
- Families report lacking uniforms, notebooks and pens; a stationery trader notes notebooks now cost five times more than before.
Official Statements & Responses
- The Gaza Ministry of Education, backed by international partners, emphasizes that the 2026-2027 academic year proceeds despite infrastructure loss, focusing on temporary facilities and UNICEF-supported supplies.
- A senior U.S. official at the Middle East America Dialogue warned that “deradicalizing Gaza” is essential, linking education reform to the long-term peace plan.
- Israel maintains that Hamas has used schools for military purposes, a claim Hamas denies.
Criticism & Opposition
- The senior U.S. official’s remarks have drawn criticism from Palestinian civil-society groups who argue that security-focused language overlooks immediate humanitarian needs.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The last time I have been to school was three years ago. Now, we are starting the school year, it is year of joy, happiness and success,” — Moayed Abu Mustafa
- “Before the war, everything was available for us - notebooks, pens, goods, clothes, outings, things that we could get cheaply,” — Samar Abu Salmi
- “For people that have no place to stay, they have no purchasing power to buy necessities in the market,” — Matthew Manguet, ICRC Livelihoods Manager
- “It’s a small drop in the ocean,” — Matthew Manguet, ICRC Livelihoods Manager
What’s Next
- UNICEF and the Ministry plan to continue supplying tents, textbooks and basic materials through the 2026-2027 year, while donors discuss longer-term reconstruction and potential curriculum-oversight mechanisms.