In a scene that reflects the magnitude of the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, the education system stands on the edge of complete collapse after more than two years of the usurping entity’s continuous aggression, which has turned schools and universities into rubble and deprived children of their most basic right to learn.

Destroyed schools and lost hope

Satellite images released by the United Nations reveal that 97% of educational facilities in the Strip have been damaged to varying degrees, with 91% in need of complete reconstruction or rehabilitation. Schools that were once sanctuaries of knowledge have become ruins, and even UNRWA schools were not spared destruction, paralyzing the entire educational process. With the start of the school year, children face a harsh reality: no books, no desks, and no safe classrooms.

A lost generation

A UNICEF report confirms that nearly one million children in Gaza are deprived of education, having lost no less than three consecutive school years. Moreover, more than 40,000 children have been martyred or injured since the outbreak of the war, while hundreds of thousands now live between hunger, displacement, and fear—instead of school and play.

A siege that blocks education

Between the start of July 2025 and the 10th of the month alone, 10 schools were bombed despite being used as shelters for displaced families, leading to the martyrdom of 59 Palestinians and the displacement of dozens of families. At the same time, the usurping entity imposes strict restrictions that prevent the entry of educational materials, further deepening the crisis.

Shocking figures

The damage to the education sector is devastating: 1,661 educational facilities have been affected, with nearly 927 completely destroyed and 734 partially damaged. The aggression has not only targeted buildings but also lives, with around 12,800 students martyred alongside 800 educational staff members, while more than 785,000 students have been deprived of continuous education.

A systematic war on education

These figures and facts reveal that the aggression targets not only stone and flesh, but the very future itself, waging a war on education and imposing a policy of ignorance on an entire generation of Palestinians. Amid the rubble of schools and the ruins of universities, Gaza’s children stand holding broken pens and torn books, facing a war that seeks to strip them of their most basic rights. It is a daily battle of resilience, as a generation clings to the faint hope of one day returning to classrooms in a homeland whose memory and future are under threat of erasure.