Gaza’s classrooms return, tent by tent, after ceasefire — but scars of war remain

New Delhi, Jan 9: In Gaza City, the sound of lessons has cautiously returned, offering a fragile sense of normality after two years of war, reports BBC. In the rubble of the Lulwa Abdel Wahab al-Qatami School in Tel al-Hawa, tents now serve as classrooms where children recite alphabets, write basic Arabic words and, for a few hours, reclaim a routine long denied to them.

The school was struck in January 2024 and later became a shelter for displaced families. Following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October, it has reopened in a rudimentary form.

The learning environment is chaotic and limited, but for many pupils it marks their first return to education since the conflict began. According to UNICEF, more than 97% of schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed during the war. The result has been a near-total collapse of formal education for Gaza’s 658,000 school-aged children, most of whom have been out of classrooms for almost two years.