Gaza without schools: War devastates education and threatens a generation’s future
Zionist regime’s war on Gaza has not only destroyed homes, hospitals and infrastructure, but has also devastated schools and universities, pushing the education sector into one of the worst crises in its history.
Three years after the start of the war, Palestinian and international figures show the scale of the damage.
Palestinian Education Minister Amjad Barham said more than 90% of Gaza’s schools and over 85% of its universities and higher education institutions have been destroyed. International data indicates that around 98% of school buildings in the Strip have been damaged, with more than 93% requiring major rehabilitation or complete reconstruction.
The human toll on education has also been severe. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, more than 19,189 school students and 1,386 university students have been martyred in Gaza, while 28,586 school students and 3,082 university students have been injured.
Among education staff, 805 school employees and 246 university lecturers and workers have been martyred, while thousands more have been wounded. The ministry said the total number of students and education workers killed in Palestine between October 7, 2023, and October 7, 2026, exceeded 22,000.
The destruction has left little room for normal schooling. A UN assessment found that 97% of schools had suffered some form of damage, while 518 out of 564 school buildings need either complete reconstruction or major rehabilitation before they can operate again. More than 179 government schools, over 105 UNRWA schools and more than 63 university buildings have been completely destroyed, according to Palestinian figures.
Behind these numbers are around 700,000 school-age children who have endured years of interrupted in-person education. UNICEF has warned that most children in Gaza have been deprived of formal classroom learning for nearly three consecutive school years.
In response, the Ministry of Education has opened around 700 temporary learning points across Gaza and established 12 virtual schools for students inside and outside the Strip. Around 542,000 students are receiving education through these temporary spaces, while 20,000 students study remotely from outside Gaza and about 40,000 face difficulties reaching learning points.
But tents and temporary centers are no real substitute for schools. Learning continues amid shortages of safe spaces, books, supplies and infrastructure, while students and teachers struggle with the trauma of war, displacement and loss.
Higher education has also been heavily hit, with most universities and higher education institutions damaged or destroyed, depriving thousands of students of classrooms, laboratories, libraries and essential facilities.
The crisis also extends to the West Bank, where Israeli measures have targeted schools, especially in the Jordan Valley and Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil. More than 20 schools in Masafer Yatta have reportedly received demolition notices, threatening hundreds of students’ access to education.
After three years of war, the question in Gaza is no longer simply when students will return to school, but how an education system can be rebuilt after losing thousands of students and teachers, most of its buildings, and years of learning. Amid rubble, tents and virtual classrooms, Gaza’s children continue trying to hold on to their right to education as learning itself becomes part of the struggle for survival.