More than 500,000 children in Gaza returned to physical classrooms on Saturday for the first time in almost three years, learning in damaged buildings, tents and makeshift structures.
Many families cannot afford uniforms, notebooks and pens as schools reopen across the Strip.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 98 percent of schools in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the war. Education officials in Gaza say about 660,000 students have been out of in-person classes for nearly three years.
The resumption of classes is seen as a fragile step forward after a conflict that has killed about 22,000 students and more than 770 education workers, including 532 teachers, said Ibrahim Ramadan, Director of Education for East Khan Younis.
“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,” said Moayed Abu Mustafa in Khan Younis.
Mustafa said he is determined to continue learning despite sitting on the floor in a poorly ventilated tent, without proper shoes, notebooks or pens, and after losing friends in the war.
“Despite all of this we will learn, we will learn even in a tent,” he said.
Samar Abu Salmi, a 15-year-old displaced student living with her family in a tent, is also going back to school.
“We studied on phones and we haven’t seen our teachers… now, we are back pursuing our dream… from one tent to another,” she said in the yard of her temporary school.
She said basic school supplies have become too expensive for her family.
“Before the war, everything was available for us – notebooks, pens, goods, clothes, outings, things that we could get cheaply,” Salmi said.
Despite widespread destruction, the Ministry of Education, with support from local and international organisations, has launched the 2026-27 academic year, setting up dozens of temporary schools made from tents, tarpaulins, sheet metal and wood.
Some classrooms are built on sandy ground with only mattresses and a blackboard where students are packed together. Others are still sheltering displaced families.
14-year-old Yamen Abu Samra described his fear returning to school.
“We used to wake up happy to go to school… Now, when we come to school, we’re afraid of stray bullets, rockets, strikes, everything,” he said.
“Now, I’m sitting in a tent that has absolutely nothing, just the sun and the heat.”
Education officials said at least 540,000 students are expected to attend in-person classes this year in temporary learning centres, makeshift private schools and educational points supported by UNICEF. Online learning will continue for students who cannot attend physically or who left Gaza during the war.
Israeli forces still control more than 60 percent of Gaza despite last year’s ceasefire, which stopped major fighting but did not end the conflict.
Palestinian authorities say over 73,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, which began after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.
Stationery trader Khaled Aliyan, 30, said import restrictions have led to shortages and price hikes.
“This notebook, which used to cost 3 shekels ($1), now costs 15 (shekels). All stationery items are expensive,” he said.
Israel’s COGAT military agency, which controls access to Gaza, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on supply restrictions and strikes on schools. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using schools for military purposes, a claim Hamas denies.
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