.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1075&ssl=1 "Scholasticide in Gaza Means There Are Almost No Schools or Colleges Left")
One early morning this past fall, I was jolted awake by the radio from the other room. My mother sat and listened to the latest updates, as she does every day. But instead of the usual breaking news or the latest orders from the Israeli military instructing people to leave their homes, or the names of the newest victims of Israel’s actions in a brutal war, I heard the giddy voices of young Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank being interviewed about the start of the new school year.
Their words were filled with expectation and hope — excitement at the prospect of seeing friends, eagerness to learn new things, to meet new teachers. For them the day marked the beginning of a new chapter in their educational journey.
As happy as I was for these students, though, hearing their voices deepened a sense of pain within me. After all, it’s been 15 months since I last stepped into a classroom. Because here in Gaza, the concept of a “regular school year” has been stolen from us. Instead of looking forward to learning and growing, we have been trapped in an endless state of terror, displacement, hunger, and death.
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I live in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza. I was born in 2005 and, so far, have already survived four Israeli military onslaughts and a crippling, illegal siege and naval blockade that is almost as old as I am. Those wars are no longer measured in days or months but by the years we spend away from school, away from ambition, away from a normal life.
Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza, which was launched following Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, with more than 14,000 others missing and presumed dead, and driven nearly the entire population from our homes. It hasn’t just destroyed lives, homes, and infrastructure; it has crushed our dreams, hopes, and education. It has devastated our educational system including my university, the Islamic University of Gaza, and many educational centers, like the Oxford English Centre, where I had just enrolled in October 2023 before the war broke out.
