The new academic year in the Palestinian territories commenced officially on Monday, but all schools in Gaza remained closed due to the ongoing conflict, with no ceasefire in sight. In its continuous offensive against the Palestinian territory, Israel issued fresh directives for residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes, following rocket attacks on Israel. Umm Zaki's son, Moataz, 15, was due to start tenth grade. Instead, he awoke in their tent in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza, and was tasked with fetching water from over a kilometer away.
"Typically, this day would be one of celebration, seeing the children in their new uniforms, heading to school, and dreaming of becoming doctors and engineers. Today, all we hope for is that the war ends before we lose any of them," the mother of five conveyed to Reuters via text message. The Palestinian Education Ministry reported that all Gaza schools were closed, with 90% either destroyed or damaged in Israel's assault, which was launched in response to Hamas gunmen attacking Israeli towns in October last year.
The UN Palestinian aid agency, UNRWA, which operates around half of Gaza's schools, has converted as many as possible into emergency shelters, accommodating thousands of displaced families. "The longer children remain out of school, the harder it becomes for them to catch up on lost learning and the more susceptible they are to becoming a lost generation, vulnerable to exploitation, including child marriage, child labor, and recruitment into armed groups," stated UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma.
In addition to the 625,000 Gazan students already registered for school who would miss classes, another 58,000 six-year-olds were expected to enroll in first grade this year, according to the education ministry. Last month, UNRWA initiated a back-to-learning program in 45 of its shelters, featuring activities such as games, drama, arts, music, and sports to support children's mental health.
Nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been displaced at least once, with some forced to flee up to ten times. In the latest evacuation order, Israel instructed residents of an area in the northern Gaza Strip to leave their homes after rockets were fired into southern Israel the previous day. "To all those in the specified area. Terrorist organizations are once again firing rockets at the State of Israel and conducting terrorist activities from this area. The specified area has been warned numerous times in the past. The specified area is considered a dangerous combat zone," an Israeli military spokesperson announced on X in Arabic.
The United Nations urged Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip to visit medical facilities to vaccinate children under ten against polio. Limited ceasefires have been implemented to facilitate this campaign, aiming to reach 640,000 children in Gaza following the territory's first polio case in approximately 25 years. UN officials reported that the campaign in the southern and central Gaza Strip had already reached over half of the children requiring the vaccine. A second round of vaccination will be necessary four weeks after the first.
Health officials confirmed that two separate Israeli airstrikes killed seven people in central Gaza, while another strike claimed the life of one man in Khan Younis, further south. The armed factions of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad engaged Israeli forces across several areas in the Gaza Strip with anti-tank rockets and mortar fire. The Israeli military reported that forces continued to dismantle military infrastructure and had killed dozens of militants in recent days, including senior commanders from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The conflict was ignited on October 7 when the Hamas group, which governs Gaza, attacked Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 and the capture of about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 40,900 Palestinians, as per the enclave's health ministry. Both sides blame each other for the failure to achieve a ceasefire that would end the hostilities and secure the release of hostages.
