Learning Under Fire: Gaza’s Students Defy War to Keep Their Education Alive

Amid the deafening roar of airstrikes and the looming specter of destruction, a remarkable scene unfolds in Gaza’s battered neighborhoods: children and young adults sitting at desks, hunched over textbooks, resolutely continuing their education. In a land where normalcy has been shattered, the pursuit of knowledge has become an act of courage, resilience, and hope.

The relentless bombing has left many schools destroyed or converted into emergency shelters for families fleeing the violence. Makeshift classrooms have sprung up in the rubble—tents in open courtyards, converted community centers, and even the corners of bombed-out buildings. Here, amidst uncertainty and fear, students attempt to carve out a semblance of routine.

Israeli agression has severely disrupted academic life, with nearly two years of bombardment affecting some 90,000 university students. All 12 of Gaza’s universities have been destroyed or heavily damaged, and many schools are now housing displaced families. According to a UN report, roughly 660,000 K-12 students haven’t been able to attend school in nearly two years.

The Challenge of Remote Learning

For many students, continuing their studies has become a daily struggle against unstable conditions. Sharaf Odeh, a 26-year-old master’s student in Digital Business Administration, hurries to download lectures before the solar power fades. He is displaced from his home and injured, yet he is determined to finish his degree, viewing education as his “only bridge to a future”. He often has to study at night on his phone because the solar panels at his shelter only work during the day. The destruction of his university and favorite study spots, like Al-Baqa Cafe, has made it difficult to find a quiet place to focus.

Another student, Enas, a 21-year-old computer systems engineering major, finds herself in a similar situation. She relies on a laptop and a stable internet connection for her studies, but she often loses exams due to electricity outages and weak internet signals. Enas admits that her grades have slipped and she has lost hope for her future goals, yet she continues to study because it “distracts” her from the war.

 “I used to study because I loved it. I wanted to graduate, work and even work while studying. Now I’m just barely getting by.”
– Enas, a 21-year-old computer engineering student in Khan Yunis

Despite the adversity, the determination of Gaza’s students is palpable. Their persistence is more than a testament to human resilience; it is a quiet defiance against forces that seek to strip away their future. In each page read, each equation solved, and each essay written under the shadow of war, they assert a truth that transcends politics and conflict: that the mind can remain free, even when the world around it is not.

In Gaza, education has become an act of resistance, and the classroom—no matter how temporary or fragile—stands as a beacon of hope.

Source: Haaretz