Gaza’s children are returning to makeshift tent schools amid bombed-out ruins after nearly two years without formal education, but the devastated education system exposes a generation at risk of permanent academic and economic ruin. With over 97% of schools damaged or destroyed, hundreds of thousands of children lack proper education. This critical situation is compounded by systemic barriers, including blocked essential school supplies, and raises warnings from researchers about the creation of a “lost generation.”
Story Highlights
- Over 97% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving 658,000 children without proper education for nearly two years.
- UNICEF operates tent classrooms in ruins where only 1,100 of hundreds of thousands of children can access basic learning.
- Cambridge research warns Gaza children face losing equivalent of five years of education, creating a “lost generation”.
- Essential school supplies including paper, notebooks, and pens remain largely blocked from entering Gaza.
Educational Infrastructure Devastation
The scale of destruction to Gaza’s education system represents an unprecedented assault on children’s futures. UNICEF reports that more than 97% of schools across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since October 2023, when Hamas launched attacks against Israel. The Lulwa Abdel Wahab al-Qatami School in Tel al-Hawa, struck by Israeli air attacks in January 2024, now hosts tent classrooms amid its rubble where Dr. Mohammed Saeed Schheiber leads 24 teachers in educating just 1,100 children through three daily shifts.
This makeshift arrangement offers only four core subjects – Arabic, English, mathematics, and science – without electricity, internet, or adequate supplies. The reality starkly contrasts with Gaza’s pre-war education system that served approximately 658,000 school-age children. Current capacity serves less than 1% of those needing education, leaving vast numbers of children academically abandoned during critical developmental years.
– 98% of schools in the Gaza Strip were destroyed due to the war.
– 638,000 children in the Gaza Strip lost their school places due to the war. pic.twitter.com/8YRcy8F3h4— dr. mohammed hamad – Gaza (@Medo198518) January 7, 2026
Systemic Barriers to Recovery
UNICEF spokesperson Jonathan Crickx confirms that essential educational materials remain largely blocked from entering Gaza. Paper, notebooks, pens, and psychosocial support kits necessary for meaningful learning cannot reach children desperately needing them. This deliberate restriction of basic school supplies compounds the educational emergency facing Gaza’s youth, preventing even minimal restoration of learning opportunities despite ceasefire conditions.
The humanitarian toll extends beyond infrastructure. OCHA documentation reveals 18,069 school students and 780 education staff killed since the escalation began, devastating the human resources essential for educational recovery. Teachers like Kholoud Habib continue working without pay, security, or supplies, driven by commitment to prevent total educational collapse. However, individual dedication cannot overcome systematic destruction of Gaza’s learning environment.
Long-Term Consequences for American Interests
Cambridge-linked research from the Center for Governance and Human Rights warns that Gaza’s children will lose the equivalent of five years of education, creating conditions for a “lost generation.” This educational deprivation historically increases risks of social fragmentation, recruitment into extremist networks, and perpetuation of violence cycles. The research indicates children facing prolonged educational deprivation often become susceptible to radicalization when normal pathways to economic advancement disappear.
The broader implications threaten regional stability that impacts American security interests. Educational collapse in conflict zones typically produces demographic bulges of undereducated youth vulnerable to militant recruitment. Hamas and other terrorist organizations exploit such conditions to rebuild their ranks, ultimately threatening Israel’s security and requiring continued American military aid and diplomatic intervention in an already volatile region.
Watch the report: Children in Gaza return to school after years without formal education
Sources:
- The fight for education is as important as the fight for survival. Children in Gaza return to school after years without formal education.
- Gaza children resume classes after nearly two years without formal schooling
- After more than two years of war, Palestinian children are hungry, denied education
