Photos: Gaza’s children return to class in tents and ruins

What Happened

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of children returned to in-person classes in Gaza for the first time in nearly three years, entering damaged school buildings, makeshift classrooms and tents amid severe shortages of basic supplies. UNICEF reported that 98 percent of schools in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or damaged during the war, while local education officials estimated about 660,000 students have been deprived of regular in-person learning. According to Ibrahim Ramadan, director of education for eastern Khan Younis, about 22,000 students and more than 770 education workers, including 532 teachers, have been killed. Students described attending school without shoes, notebooks or pens, and stationery trader Khaled Aliyan said Israeli import restrictions have driven prices up fivefold. Israeli forces still control more than 60 percent of Gaza despite an October 2025 ceasefire that halted large-scale fighting but left the underlying conflict unresolved.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The reopening of schools is a fragile milestone in a territory where nearly all education infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged and hundreds of thousands of children have been out of school for almost three years. It underscores the severe humanitarian and reconstruction challenges in Gaza and the long-term consequences of the conflict for a generation of students. The continued Israeli control of more than 60 percent of Gaza and import restrictions also highlight the unresolved conditions under which any recovery is taking place.

Watch For

Monitor whether the October 2025 ceasefire holds and whether Israeli forces maintain control over more than 60 percent of Gaza, as both affect the continuity of schooling. Watch for further reports from UNICEF and Gaza education officials on access to supplies, conditions of temporary classrooms, and any reconstruction or import policy changes. Also track whether the school year proceeds despite the severe shortages of stationery and basic school materials.