&w=3840&q=100)
Gaza's children have missed two years of school, truce won't undo damage
She's part of a generation of Palestinians from grade school through university who have had virtually no access to education in the territory since the war began in October 2023. Classes were suspended that month and schools were transformed into crowded shelters as hundreds of thousands fled their homes at the start of Israel's campaign of retaliation after Hamas Oct 7, 2023, attack.
The closure of schools has removed a key social outlet for young people as they grapple with war, hunger and displacement. For younger children, it has meant missing out on basic skills like reading and simple arithmetic. For older students, advanced subjects, graduation exams and college applications have all been put on hold.
Even if negotiations lead to another ceasefire, it's unclear when anything in Gaza will be rebuilt. Vast areas have been completely destroyed, and the UN children's agency estimates that nearly 90% of schools will need substantial reconstruction before they can function again.
Like many in Gaza, Qanan's family has been displaced multiple times and is now living in a tent. When an Israeli airstrike destroyed their home in early 2024, she dug through the rubble in search of her books, but there was nothing left.
My sole dream was to study medicine, Qanan said. I stopped thinking about it. All my thoughts now are about how to survive.
Hundreds of thousands out of school
More than 650,000 students have had no access to education since the start of the war, according to the UN children's agency, Unicef. That includes nearly 40,000 students who were unable to take university entry exams that largely determine their career prospects.
It's the first time in decades that the exams were not administered in Gaza.
Israel's bombardment and ground operations have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced 90% of Gaza's population. School-age children in crowded shelters and tent camps are often forced to help their families find food, water and firewood. A complete Israeli blockade imposed in early March that was only slightly eased 2 months later has driven the territory to the brink of famine.
Local education officials, working with Unicef and other aid groups, set up hundreds of learning spaces to try and provide education during the war.
We're trying to salvage what we can of the educational process, so that the next generation doesn't slip through our fingers, said Mohamed al-Asouli, head of the education department in the southern city of Khan Younis.
During a six-week ceasefire in January and February, some 600 learning spaces provided lessons for around 173,000 children, according to Unicef. But since March, when Israel ended the truce with a surprise bombardment, nearly half have shut down.
The impact goes beyond learning losses, said Rosalia Bollen, a Unicef spokeswoman.
Children in Gaza have been trapped in a cycle not just of exposure to unprecedented violence, but also a cycle of fear, of toxic stress, of anxiety.
Two years of my life are gone
Some have tried to continue their studies through online learning, but it's not easy in Gaza, where there has been no central electricity since the start of the war. Palestinians must use solar panels or hard-to-find generators to charge their phones, and internet is unreliable.
The mobile phone is not always charged, and we only have one at home, said Nesma Zouaroub, a mother of four school-age children. She said her youngest son should be in second grade but does not know how to read or write.
The children's future is ruined, she said.
Ola Shaban tried to continue her civil engineering studies online through her university after the campus was destroyed by Israeli forces in April 2024. She had to walk long distances to get a signal in her hometown near Khan Younis, and she eventually gave up.
I couldn't continue because of lack of internet, continuous displacement and the constant sense of fear, she said. Two years of my life are gone.
Israel's offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, does not differentiate between combatants and civilians but says over half the dead are women and children. Its figures are used by the UN and other international organisations as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct 7 attack and abducted 251. They are still holding 50 hostages, less than half believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire deals or other agreements.
Qanan's father, Ibrahim, a local journalist, said his family did everything it could to support Sarah's ambition to study medicine, only to see it go up in smoke when the war broke out.
The war stunned us and turned our life upside down, the father of six said. Our dreams and hopes were buried in the rubble of our home.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Trump says Hamas 'didn't want' Gaza deal as talks break down
U.S. President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday (July 25, 2025) of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza as Israel said it would explore "alternative options" to rescue hostages after negotiations collapsed. An Israeli official meanwhile told AFP air drops of aid would resume soon over the Gaza Strip, where aid groups warned of surging numbers of malnourished children after more than 21 months of war. After U.S. and Israeli negotiators quit indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, Mr. Trump said that "it was was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die." The U.S. President argued that the Palestinian militant group was not ready to hand over the remaining captives in Gaza because "they know what happens after you get the final hostages". His special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not "acting in good faith" in the negotiations that ended on Thursday (July 24, 2025). Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim in turn accused Mr. Witkoff of distorting the reality of the talks and walking back on agreements that had been reached between the parties. Mr. Witkoff was looking to "serve the Israeli position", Naim told AFP. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace." Mr. Witkoff similarly said Washington would "consider alternative options" on Gaza, without elaborating on what they could entail. Mr. Netanyahu's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called to reinstate a complete aid blockade, occupy the entirety of Gaza, "encourage" its people to leave and re-establish Israeli settlements there. Mediators Qatar and Egypt said the talks could still resume, vowing to carry on with "intensive efforts" to secure an elusive breakthrough.


India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Stop fuelling Russia's aggression: US warns China at UN over Ukraine war
Tensions flared between the United States and China at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, as Washington accused Beijing of aiding Russia's war in Ukraine through the export of dual-use goods, while China refuted the claims and warned against US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, urged countries, specifically naming China, to halt exports that contribute to Russia's military capabilities, including components found in drones and missiles used against claim to have implemented strong export controls on dual-use goods falls apart in the face of daily recovery of Chinese-produced components in the drones, weapons, and vehicles that Russia uses against Ukraine,' Shea told the 15-member Security Council. She emphasised that the continued flow of such goods to Russia helps its missile and drone attacks, and undermines global efforts to curb the conflict. 'If China is sincere in calling for peace, it should stop fuelling Russia's aggression,' Shea in turn, pushed back strongly against the accusations. China's deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang defended Beijing's stance, asserting that China has maintained strict controls and has not contributed weapons to the conflict.'China did not start the war in Ukraine, is not a party to the conflict, has never provided lethal weapons, and has always 'strictly controlled dual-use materials, including the export of drones,'' Geng also criticised the US for deflecting responsibility, saying, 'We urge the US to stop shifting blame on the Ukraine issue or creating confrontation and instead play a more constructive role in promoting ceasefire and peace talks.'Earlier, an investigation by news agency Reuters revealed that Chinese-made engines have been secretly routed to a Russian state-owned drone manufacturer under the guise of "industrial refrigeration units" in an attempt to bypass Western sanctions.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch


India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Iran to continue nuclear talks with Europe amid looming UN sanctions
Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the US bombed Iran last the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran's consulate for talks that the UN nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in AND EUROPEANS PRESENT IDEAS Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterward that both sides had presented specific ideas on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue."While seriously criticising their stances regarding the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism," he said."It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal - from which the US withdrew in 2018 - which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.A deadline of October 18 is fast approaching when the resolution governing that deal that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before. This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of the end of August to revive diplomacy. Diplomats say they want Iran to take concrete steps to convince them to extend the deadline by up to six WANT NUCLEAR COMMITMENTS FROM IRANIran would need to make commitments on key issues including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kg (880 pounds) of near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's the talks, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson had said Tehran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless".IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now."We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken," he told reporters in United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which US President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a programme that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear NBC News has cited current and former U.S. officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found that while the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted nuclear sites, the other two were not as badly denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its nuclear programme is meant solely for civilian purposes.- Ends