Schools In Gaza Open Again, 300 Thousand Palestinian Students Return To Learning!

Illustration of student students in Gaza, Palestine (@QNAEnglish)

JAKARTA - The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) announced that around 300,000 students in the Gaza Strip will resume their education starting Saturday, October 18 local time.

"UNRWA has drawn up plans to continue the education process for 300,000 Palestinian students and this number is likely to increase," said Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA media adviser, via a statement on platform X, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu.

According to Abu Hasna, about 10,000 students will undergo face-to-face learning in schools and shelters, while most of them take part in distance learning. The education program will involve about 8,000 teachers throughout the Gaza region.

This decision is an important step amid the limited education infrastructure due to the prolonged war. Many schools in Gaza were devastated or heavily damaged after the Israeli military offensive, while thousands of children have lost access to education over the past four years, including since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Palestinian Education Ministry data noted that since the war broke out in October 2023, Israel has destroyed 172 public schools, damaged 118 other schools, and attacked more than 100 UNRWA-run schools.

This tragedy also claimed lives among students and educators. A total of 17,711 students were reported to have died, 25,897 students were injured, and 763 educators died with 3,189 others injured.

In addition to restoring the education sector, UNRWA is also trying to improve basic health services for the people of Gaza.

"We also plan to revitalize 22 central health clinics in the Gaza Strip," said Abu Hasna. We have dozens of food distribution points and thousands of employees with high experience in the logistics sector," he added.

UNRWA is reported to have purchased hundreds of millions of dollars in supplies, but most are still stuck outside of Gaza.

Many basic necessities, including materials for residential buildings, blankets, winter clothes, and medicines were not allowed into Gaza by Israel, thus exacerbating the humanitarian situation, said Abu Hasna.

He warned that 95 percent of Gaza's population now relies on humanitarian aid, after losing their jobs and livelihoods. This condition, he said, worsened rapidly ahead of winter.

"Hundreds of thousands of people who fled to live in the open after returning to Gaza City, following the enactment of a ceasefire on October 10," he explained. The entry of aid is an urgent need ahead of winter

Israel and Hamas previously reached a ceasefire agreement last week based on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The first phase of the deal includes a prisoner swap, while the next stage includes the rebuilding of Gaza and the formation of a new government without Hamas involvement.

Since the war began in October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Gazans, mostly women and children, and left most of the Palestinian territories uninhabitable.