Al-Azhar headquarters in Cairo
Despite the destruction, it said, children—“their memories scarred by the sounds of airstrikes and the smell of gunpowder”—have begun returning to what remains of their classrooms after nearly two years of forced interruption.
Lessons have resumed at the historic Al-Kamaliyya School, where students are “clinging to the hope of reclaiming their right to learn and rebuild their future,” the statement said.
Citing figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Education in Ramallah, the observatory stated that around 80,000 students are now studying in temporary learning centres established with help from local civil-society groups, a fraction of pre-war enrolment levels.
Before Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, the territory had some 550 schools, including government and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) facilities. About 143 of them, including several universities, have been destroyed, while 366 others have suffered partial damage.
The human toll has been severe, the observatory said that Israel has killed 18,000 school-age children, 1,500 university students, 750 teachers, and 230 professors in Gaza over the last two years.
In response, the Palestinian education ministry has launched 25 virtual schools and 234 temporary learning centres, with 1,500 teachers from the West Bank helping deliver online classes to more than 130,000 students. Another 26,000 students, born in 2006, are sitting for their final-year exams electronically.
Al-Azhar urged global solidarity to rebuild Gaza’s education sector, saying the right to education “is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone for justice and lasting peace”.
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