The catastrophic destruction across the Gaza Strip has been described by educators as a scholasticide. With nearly 90% of school buildings damaged or destroyed, and over 625,000 children denied formal education for more than a year, the crisis is not merely infrastructural—it is existential.
While the world debates the logistics of aid and reconstruction, the true blueprint for Gaza’s future is not drawn in cement and steel, but in the restoration of a child’s right to learn. Rebuilding the education system must be recognized as the paramount priority of any genuine recovery effort.
The scale of the devastation is difficult to comprehend. Not only have classrooms been flattened and universities razed, but thousands of students and educators have been killed or injured.
The remaining schools, often serving as crowded displacement shelters, offer no secure or stable environment for learning. This complete loss of educational routine, compounded by profound psychological trauma, risks creating a lost generation—a generation scarred by violence and stripped of the intellectual tools needed for reconstruction.
For these children, school is not just about literacy and math; it is a critical safe space, a source of stability, and the anchor of hope.
Education is the anti-fragility mechanism of any society. Gaza’s future engineers, doctors, teachers, and civic leaders must be trained today to lead the recovery tomorrow. When schools reopen, they serve as community centers, restoring social cohesion and creating the human capital essential for sustainable development.
Crucially, this rebuilding must be led by Palestinians, ensuring it is rooted in local needs and priorities, and focused on educational justice—a system that was, prior to the recent conflict, known for its high literacy rates and commitment to academic achievement regardless of socioeconomic background.
The path to restoration requires immediate and sustained global solidarity. The priority is a permanent ceasefire that guarantees safety for all. Following this, the international community must rapidly invest in setting up temporary learning spaces (TLSs) and massively scaling up psychosocial support to help children and teachers process trauma.
Long-term, UN agencies and global partners must support Palestinian authorities in a monumental reconstruction effort, prioritizing resilient and inclusive school infrastructure.
The continued blockade of essential supplies, including educational kits and building materials, must end immediately. To neglect the education crisis is to doom the prospect of lasting peace.
Every day a child is out of school is a day that the cycle of despair and instability is strengthened. The promise of a functional, dignified life rests on the children now waiting for their desks and books. The time to invest in that future—a future built on knowledge, not rubble—is now.