GAZA: Gaza’s schools lie in ruins or have been turned into shelters for families displaced by a war that has killed tens of thousands. Yet teacher Israa Abu Mustafa refuses to let death and destruction deprive traumatized children of an education. After a four-story building containing her home was demolished by a Zionist air strike, Abu Mustafa set up a classroom on the rubble under a tent.

Her impromptu school is one of the few remaining options for children in her neighborhood. “During the war, we had to fill water gallons and collect sticks for firewood. Then Miss Israa found us and brought us here to continue learning,” said 10-year-old Hala Abu Mustafa. The project began with 35 pupils and that number gradually increased to 70, ranging from pre-school to sixth graders aged 11-12.

Since the war began on October 7, schools have been bombed or turned into shelters for displaced people, leaving Gaza’s estimated 625,000 school-aged children unable to attend classes. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, at least 10,490 school and university students have been killed in the Zionist offensive. More than 500 school teachers and university educators have also been killed. The Zionist entity says it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of using human shields and operating from schools, an allegation the group denies.

Abu Mustafa’s lessons go beyond just a curriculum. Her classes provide a sense of structure and routine in the chaos. The tent is far from a traditional classroom where children once dreamed of one day studying abroad or becoming doctors and engineers who help the people of Gaza, which was impoverished and suffered from high unemployment long before the war. “We need chairs and tables so the children can learn properly instead of being forced to write on the ground,” the 29-year-old teacher said.

With limited resources, Abu Mustafa teaches basic lessons, trying to keep her students engaged despite the relentless bombardment. Gaza and the occupied West Bank have internationally high literacy levels, and the under-resourced education system was a rare source of hope and pride among Palestinians. “What could be the child’s wish? They have the right to learn in a safe environment, they have the right to play in safe place, to not feel any fear,” Abu Mustafa said.

Longing for school

In Deir El-Balah, schoolgirl Rama Abu Seif longs to return to a classroom to study but it is now a dormitory for families displaced by war. Her books were burned to light fires in clay ovens. Her school bag is stuffed with clothes in case she needs to flee Zionist bombardment quickly.

The 12-year-old missed grade six last year and will be deprived of grade seven by the Zionist offensive on Gaza. “Of course, the children who are my age and younger than me, they all want to go back to northern (Gaza) and relive their school days, study and play at school, but all of that is gone and we lost two years because of the war,” she said.

Instead of playing sports and games in the school playground, Rama waits in long lines for her turn to collect water, which is often dirty and undrinkable. Since the Zionist attack started nearly a year ago, Gazans have fled up, down and across the territory, often repeatedly, seeking safety and a place to sleep in schools like the one in Deir El-Balah in central Gaza where Rama and her family live. But nowhere is safe. “In the past we would open the bag and find the book in it, so we would take the book and study,” Rama said. “But now we open the bag and find clothes inside it, clothes for displacement that we take with us wherever we go, from place to place.” — Reuters