Gaza students resume classes in tents amid ongoing humanitarian crisis

GAZA CITY – Early Saturday morning marked a poignant return to routine for Rana Totah and her two sons, who walked to a makeshift school in al-Katiba, Gaza City. For the 30-year-old mother, displaced from the Zeitoun neighborhood, the day symbolized more than just the start of an academic year; it represented a tentative restoration of family life after nearly three years of conflict and displacement following the outbreak of war in October 2023.

“Honestly, today was a beautiful day for me. It even felt like Eid,” Totah told Al Jazeera. Despite the hardships, she ensured her children slept early and prepared them with the care typical of a standard school start. The temporary facility, housed in approximately ten tents, stands as one of the few viable learning spaces available since the Gaza Municipality schools were damaged or repurposed as shelters during the conflict.

During the height of the fighting, including periods spent in Khan Younis, Totah attempted to maintain her four children’s education through informal, volunteer-led initiatives. However, irregular attendance was rampant as survival took precedence. “There were very difficult days. They would think about things like, ‘Mum, bring me water,’ or ‘Mum, let me go and get you this,'” Totah recalled. “I would tell them, ‘No, I want to focus on your studies.’ Education is the foundation of everything in life.”

The resumption of in-person classes follows a significant disruption to Gaza’s educational system. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, approximately 541,000 students returned to face-to-face learning when the new school year began on September 19. This figure represents an increase from January, when 317,332 students attended physical classes and another 120,000 participated in virtual schooling taught by educators from the West Bank. The rise in attendance coincides with a reduction in violence following an October 2025 ceasefire, although Israeli airstrikes have continued, resulting in the deaths of two students earlier this month.

The physical infrastructure of Gaza’s education sector has been decimated. UNICEF reports that nearly 98 percent of school buildings have been damaged since October 2023, with over 93 percent requiring major rehabilitation or complete reconstruction. Consequently, an estimated 700,000 children aged four to 17 have missed formal schooling for nearly three consecutive years, with around 420,000 having had no face-to-face instruction at all.

Inside one of these temporary structures, Nesma Nahid Abu Asim, a mathematics teacher who has been instructing since 2010, led a sixth-grade lesson. Working through a UNICEF-supported program, she addressed students sitting on mattresses with notebooks balanced on their laps. Abu Asim noted that while students lack basic stationery, textbooks, tables, and chairs, the primary danger remains the ongoing war.

“Education is a right for every student… but students arrive without basic stationery or textbooks,” Abu Asim said. “The biggest difficulty is that we stop education.” She expressed hope that temporary classrooms would eventually be vacated by displaced families and returned to students in proper buildings.

At Ahbab Shujayea School, a makeshift institution near Gaza City’s port, the conditions are equally dire. Over 300 students from first through sixth grades attend classes in worn-out tents. First and second-grade pupils sit on the ground, writing on pieces of cardboard due to a complete absence of desks and chairs.

Inaam al-Batreekhi, the school’s director, highlighted the severe supply chain issues caused by Israel’s siege. School bags and stationery shipments from UNICEF have been blocked, with Palestinian authorities reporting just this month that a new shipment was prevented from entering the enclave. “More than 300 students are enrolled at Ahbab Shujayea School, but unfortunately, they are students without notebooks or stationery,” al-Batreekhi stated.

Security concerns have also forced shorter school days, running only from 8 am to 11 am due to risks such as Israeli shelling from the sea. Al-Batreekhi noted that some students arrive late after helping their families fetch water and food. “These are displaced children. A short while ago, they were carrying water and food. Now they are here trying to learn,” she said.

Despite the challenges, students like 11-year-old Osama Alayleh find joy in returning to class. Ranking third in his previous class, Osama aims for first place this year and expressed excitement about studying in a group setting, even if the tent environment is far from ideal. “But what can we do? It’s OK. The important thing is that we study,” he said.

As the school year progresses, educators and parents alike emphasize the fragility of this progress. Al-Batreekhi stressed that while current conditions are manageable on dry days, the arrival of rain could halt operations entirely. Her priority remains securing basic support to make the temporary spaces safer and more comfortable for children who, she added, “deserve to have the basic conditions to learn.”