Gaza’s UNRWA schools are classrooms by day, displacement shelters at night

Around 300,000 UNRWA pupils person been deprived of a ceremonial acquisition since Israel’s warfare connected Gaza began successful October 2023.

Gaza’s classrooms are dilatory coming backmost to life, pursuing 2 years of relentless Israeli warfare and devastation, which has destroyed the Palestinian enclave’s cloth of regular life: homes, hospitals and schools.

Four weeks into the United States-brokered ceasefire successful Gaza, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is successful the process of reopening schools crossed the territory amid ongoing Israeli bomabardment and dense restrictions connected the travel of aid..

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Since October 2023, much than 300,000 UNRWA students person been deprived of a ceremonial education, portion 97 percent of the agency’s schoolhouse buildings person been damaged oregon destroyed by the fighting.

What were erstwhile centres of acquisition are present besides being utilized arsenic shelters by hundreds of displaced families.

Reporting from the cardinal metropolis of Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum recovered families sharing classrooms with children striving to reclaim their futures.

Inam Al Maghari, 1 of the Palestinian students who has resumed lessons, spoke to Al Jazeera astir the toll Israel’s warfare connected Gaza has had connected her education.

“I utilized to survey before, but we person been distant from schoolhouse for 2 years. I didn’t implicit my 2nd and 3rd grades, and present I’m successful 4th grade, but I consciousness similar I cognize nothing,” Al Maghari said.

“Today, we brought mattresses alternatively of desks to beryllium and study,” she added.

Palestinian pupil Inam Al Maghari speaks astir her instrumentality to schoolhouse [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]

UNRWA is hoping to grow its acquisition services successful the coming weeks, according to Enas Hamdan, the caput of its connection office.

“UNRWA strives to supply face-to-face acquisition done its impermanent harmless learning spaces for much than 62,000 students successful Gaza,” Hamdan said.

“We are moving to grow these activities crossed 67 sheltering schools passim the Strip. Additionally, we proceed to supply online learning for 300,000 students successful Gaza.”

Om Mahmoud, a displaced Palestinian, explained however she and her household vacate the country they are staying successful 3 times a week to let students to study.

“We vacate the classrooms to springiness the children a accidental to larn due to the fact that acquisition is vital,” Mahmoud said. “We’re prioritising learning and anticipation that conditions volition improve, allowing for amended prime of education.”

A representation taken from extracurricular a schoolroom successful Deir el-Balah, Gaza [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]

The warfare successful Gaza has taken an immense toll connected children, with psychologists informing that much than 80 percent of them present amusement symptoms of severe trauma.

The UN children’s bureau UNICEF has estimated that much than 64,000 children person been killed oregon injured successful Gaza during the fighting.

Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa determination director, said “one cardinal children person endured the regular horrors of surviving successful the world’s astir unsafe spot to beryllium a child, leaving them with wounds of fear, nonaccomplishment and grief”.