300,000 Gaza students resume classes amid aid blockade

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Oct 2025 16:19
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UNRWA says 300,000 Gaza students are returning to school despite "Israel’s" blockade halting critical aid and leaving education in crisis.

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Children attend an activity at a makeshift class in Deir al Balah, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareen Hana)

About 300,000 Gaza students are returning to classrooms this week under a United Nations initiative, despite a continuing aid blockade by "Israel" that has crippled the enclave’s infrastructure and education system.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced that it has initiated a wide-scale plan to resume learning for students across the Gaza Strip, most of whom have been out of school since October 2023, when "Israel" launched its ongoing genocidal war on the territory.

“This number is likely to increase,” said Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA’s media advisor, in televised remarks. He confirmed that about 10,000 students will attend in-person classes at schools in Gaza and shelters, while the majority will receive remote instruction.

“We cannot afford to lose another two years,” Abu Hasna said, referencing the suspension of education first during the COVID-19 pandemic and then due to "Israel’s" war on Gaza. According to UNRWA, around 8,000 teachers will participate in the program.

The Gaza education system has been devastated by the war, with schools converted into shelters or reduced to rubble.

Remote and in-person learning amid widespread destruction

The Palestinian Education Ministry reported that as of mid-September, "Israel" had destroyed 172 government schools, damaged 118 more, and struck over 100 UNRWA-operated schools.

The toll of the genocide on children and educators has been catastrophic:

17,711 students killed
25,897 injured
763 education sector staff killed
3,189 injured

The resumption of schooling under UNRWA is viewed as a lifeline for a generation that has known little stability.

'Israel' accused of blocking aid and supplies to Gaza Strip

Abu Hasna also condemned the ongoing blockade imposed by "Israel", which has prevented the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of essential supplies, including educational materials, winter clothing, shelter materials, and medical aid.

“Many basic necessities are being withheld, worsening the humanitarian situation,” he said, warning that 95% of Gaza’s population now relies on aid after losing their sources of income.

UNRWA has also launched efforts to revive 22 central health clinics and reopen dozens of food distribution points, but faces growing obstacles due to the blockade.

UN agency warns of escalating humanitarian crisis

Abu Hasna stressed the urgency of reopening Gaza to aid before winter. “Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living in the open after returning to Gaza City under the ceasefire,” he said.

The ceasefire, brokered under a plan by US President Donald Trump, began on October 10. Its first phase included an exchange of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, with future phases aimed at reconstruction and the formation of a new governing structure without Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and rendered much of the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.