THE APEX TIMES
Nearly three years into the conflict, Gaza’s children face displacement and the destruction of schools, but local education efforts have kept classes running in makeshift sites despite severe disruptions.
In Gaza, many children have spent nearly three years growing up amid war, displacement and loss, and their schooling has been pushed into tents, damaged buildings and overcrowded shelters. A PBS NewsHour report described students who continue to study even as schools have been shattered and families have been forced repeatedly to move, often with limited access to learning materials and stable classrooms.
The conflict that has disrupted education intensified after Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel, followed by Israeli strikes in Gaza that have killed thousands of children, according to the report. With fighting and displacement continuing, education systems and community routines have been strained, leaving students trying to learn in environments shaped by security risks and the absence of normal infrastructure.
The report focused on the persistence of classroom activity despite the scale of disruption. Children interviewed in the program described attending classes in makeshift spaces and adjusting to conditions that are far from typical school settings. The report said education is taking place in tents, in buildings damaged by strikes, and inside shelters that have become crowded as families seek safety.
For students who have been displaced multiple times, daily learning can be interrupted by changes in where families live, as well as by the broader conditions around them. The PBS NewsHour account described how many children, even those who have reached an age where they would normally expect more continuity, still face instability that makes it difficult to keep education on a predictable schedule.
Despite these constraints, the report said many children continue to express a desire to learn and to remain in classrooms. In a setting where the surrounding community has absorbed major losses, attending class represents continuity and routine, and it also reflects the efforts of educators and families attempting to preserve learning opportunities for children who have experienced war-related displacement.
The report underscored that the crisis is not limited to physical damage to schools. It also affects the availability of space, the ability to maintain orderly classroom conditions, and the overall ability of children to stay engaged in learning as their surroundings remain volatile. Over time, the war’s impact on education has contributed to a prolonged disruption in schooling rather than a short-term interruption.
Education access in Gaza remains tied to broader security and humanitarian conditions, and the continued operation of classes in improvised sites highlights the scale of the shortfall in functioning school infrastructure. As the conflict continues, international attention to schooling conditions and displacement patterns is likely to remain part of humanitarian and policy discussions, including efforts to determine what resources can be safely delivered and where schooling can occur.