Children in Gaza are not learning to become the next generation of scientists and artists. On the other hand, They must learn how to survive one of the most destructive bombing raids in history.as well as one of the world's worst hunger crises.
Throughout the Gaza Strip Hundreds of teachers died and about 75% of schools, colleges and universities were completely destroyed or damaged., including Israa University in Gaza City, a teaching center for more than 4,000 students that was destroyed by Israeli forces last week. Many of the remaining schools, colleges and universities are being used as refuges for the more than 1.9 million people who have been forced to leave their homes. Boys and girls have not been to school for more than 100 days.
Almost all teaching materials – chairs, desks, blackboards, textbooks – have been destroyed, either by incessant shelling by Israeli forces or by desperate civilians who burn the materials just so they can cook and keep warm.
There are also attacks on libraries, museums, art galleries and historical sites in the Gaza Strip. These places are part of a broader educational context in which Palestinian children develop a self-awareness and understanding of their history and heritage, as well as their place in the world. But these places are being destroyed, destroying the cultural environment in which Palestinian children develop.
Even for someone with decades of experience in some of the worst crises – Afghanistan, Ukraine and Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee camp – it's hard to understand what How devastating this war was for Gaza's education system. It will be a long time before children can return to classrooms. It will take much longer until a functioning education system can be rebuilt.
But the damage to education infrastructure pales in comparison to the impact this conflict is having on children’s mental health and emotional well-being. Even before the current conflict More than half of parents and caregivers across the Gaza Strip were consulted for a Save the Children study reported that their children had considered suicide and three out of five had harmed themselves. The situation will now deteriorate significantly.
Despite the problems that existed before October 7, Palestinian boys and girls were successful in school. Something that is both encouraging and devastating given the current situation. Palestinian children's determination to learn is astonishing: more than 95% of children across Palestine attend primary education and literacy rates are higher than in Hong Kong and Singapore. Organizations like Save the Children are doing everything they can to help them in extremely difficult conditions.
For example, UNRWA alone holds 800 sessions daily across the Gaza Strip, where children can be children for a moment and try to regain a sense of normality, even as the shelters themselves come under attack and the death toll among UNRWA staff rises. It is reaching unprecedented levels in the history of the UN.
The authorities are also preparing for the time when safe access is guaranteed.
The long-term physical reconstruction of hundreds of educational centers will take time – You have to consider the amount of unexploded bombs that have to be removed before reconstruction can begin – and that will be expensive. Hundreds of temporary teaching centers in tents or prefabricated structures are needed. A massive increase in teaching material will be necessary.
But this challenge is simple compared to the almost unimaginably complex task of repairing the psychological damage inflicted on more than a million boys and girls. Children who were already pushed to their limits before October 7th and have suffered even more since then.
Children in Gaza need educational spaces that are welcoming, friendly and safe for everyone, including the thousands of children who have been physically and mentally disabled by this war and require specialized care.. They need teachers trained to help children exposed to highly stressful and traumatic events, as well as counselors and specialists who can provide advanced treatment. Teachers themselves need support as they return to work after their own personal traumas, including the likely loss of their homes and loved ones.
Children will need the best possible home and support system, an unimaginable challenge given the thousands of people left without parents and families and the destruction of existing alternative care options. And they need a curriculum that allows them to make up for what they missed, but also recognizes the deeply traumatic experiences they have endured.
This will be difficult and take a long time. However, there is something that can be done immediately. Something that would have a huge impact on children's mental health, not to mention saving thousands of lives. Something that would be easy to achieve without the lack of political will: an immediate and permanent ceasefire.