Children in Gaza defy trauma to return to school

Children have returned to school in Gaza, taking classes in tents or in the rubble of schools where families sheltered during the war, but trauma, aid blockades and the threat of more fighting could derail their drive to learn.

At least 14,500 children have been killed in the war to date, and thousands wounded, according to UNICEF. More than 400 teachers were also killed, says the UN, and now most of Gaza’s children need mental health support for trauma, say aid agencies.

Children are not necessarily just picking up from where they left off when the war began on 7 October, 2023, “because of all the learning loss and the deep psychological impact of the war,” explained Kate McLennan, Middle East regional advisor on education at rights group War Child. “There is also trauma attached to schools, which are generally understood as places of learning and safety and where you go to play with your friends [but have] been used as shelters. So, there is that alternative use of a school which has a psychological impact on children.”

A fragile truce was declared between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel in January and, as of 3 March, more than 150,000 students had enrolled in 165 government schools, with over 7,000 teachers mobilised, the UN pointed out, citing the Education Ministry in Gaza.

However, the challenges are huge.

More than 658,000 school-aged children do not have access to formal education and almost 95 per cent of school buildings have been damaged by Israeli air strikes and fighting, with 88 per cent of them needing major reconstruction, according to a report by the Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster, which includes UN agencies and other international aid groups.

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Desks and chairs have been pulverised and teaching materials destroyed while reconstruction has been delayed by aid blockades imposed by Israel. The blockades have impeded efforts to establish more learning spaces and rebuild damaged schools, said Alun McDonald, head of media and external relations at Islamic Relief, a British-based charity. “Hundreds of large tents that were meant to be used for temporary learning spaces have been blocked from entering [Gaza], even during the ceasefire period,” he added.

The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that there could be another hunger crisis if the blockades continue. Israel says that the blockades are designed to pressure Hamas in ceasefire talks.

“Children can’t learn when they are being starved and bombed,” said McDonald. “Getting children back into school is an urgent priority, but the challenges are absolutely massive.”

The war began when a Hamas-led incursion on 7 October, 2023, triggered an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. Israel says that 1,200 people were killed by Hamas, which also took 251 hostages.

This month Israel stopped deliveries of food, medicine and fuel into Gaza and cut the supply of electricity in a bid to put pressure on Hamas. Aid agencies said the power cut could threaten clean water supplies.

Around 32,000 students have registered to take their final high school exams, according to the UN, but there is a lack of tablets, internet access and charging stations to facilitate the process.

There is also a shortage of large tents and recreational and psycho-social kits to help students learn because of restrictions on aid, including the blocking of 10 pre-approved trucks carrying basic education supplies in February, said UN agencies. However, it is not just the physical damage and shortages that are holding children back.

“One of the things that we know from our work in all conflict and post-conflict and development contexts is that the psychological trauma and the psychosocial support needs of children are so high that it’s related to brain development as well,” said McLennan. “The academic content is not going to stick if the conditions of the brain are not ready to… deal with that.”

A study by academics and UNRWA last year said the war could set the education of children in Gaza back by up to five years. “The lost education will affect an entire generation of children in Gaza for the rest of their lives,” concluded War Child’s McDonald.

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