Most of Gaza’s schools are destroyed and hundreds of thousands of children cannot go back to class

DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Bissan Younis looked dejected as she stood outside a cluster of tents surrounded by rubble and debris a wasteland that is a common sight across the Gaza Strip The tiny encampment was yet another makeshift school that has no room for her teenage son Kareem Most of of the schools are destroyed she stated The Associated Press Every school I go to tells me there is no room More than Palestinian children in Gaza have missed the past two years of school because of the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group Instead of studying and socializing they have been repeatedly displaced fled airstrikes and shelling and often spent their days scouring for water and food for their families With a ceasefire reached last month largely holding humanitarian bureaucrats are now working frantically to reopen dozens of makeshift schools John Crickx a spokesman for the U N children s agency UNICEF reported it s critical for children to return to classes as soon as attainable not just because of basic guidance but also for their mental strength In the weeks to come if we don t offer mentoring he noted there could be terrible consequences for an entire generation UNICEF estimates that over Palestinian children missed out on school during the war Crickx says that so far only about children have been able to return Separately UNRWA the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is providing certain coaching through their contracted teachers for about students Greater part of the UNRWA-run schools which catered to half of the Gaza children before the war have since turned into shelters for displaced people No space for tents Lack of space is a key obstacle Dozens of schools were badly damaged or thoroughly destroyed Numerous are still being used as shelters for Palestinians who have been repeatedly displaced during the enclave s intense bombardment It s basically tents among the displaced people s tents or it is particular prefabs or shelters revealed Crickx It s very much the the majority basic learning At one school a cluster of tents with the UNICEF logo erected on a patch of land amid bombed-out buildings in the southern city of Khan Younis children huddled closely in one classroom eagerly listening to their coach Crickx announced that finding a location to put up the tents has been tricky Another challenge is getting supplies into Gaza whether concrete to fix damaged schools or simple pencils erasers and other basic supplies Since the Oct start of the war with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel these items have not been allowed into Gaza Israel which controls the flow of goods into the territory considers them non-critical non-life saving Crickx disclosed COGAT the Israeli military body that coordinates aid to Gaza had no immediate comment on allowing in school supplies to Gaza Even the children who return to makeshift schools were able to enroll carry the psychological burdens that come with war and displacement The level of trauma among the people of Gaza including children is horrific announced UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma U N agencies say they are struggling to asses the damages and figure out the costs with the ceasefire still in its early stages reconstruction of Gaza has not yet begun and U N experts say the process could take years and cost certain billion Schools that turned into shelters Displaced families continue to live in the ruins of damaged schools UNRWA s Touma says about people still shelter in the agency s schools One of the displaced Tahreer al-Oweini says she feels guilty but that she had no choice I live in a classroom that should be in session with a professor students and a blackboard noted al-Oweini Around her damaged walls and ceilings are covered with tarp Al-Oweini disclosed she is struggling to secure spots for her three daughters and a son who are in elementary and middle school She even narrated one school principal that she will search for a chair and desk for her daughter but was still rejected The children forgot everything they learned she disclosed Their life over the past two years has been getting water running after aid vehicles war Hamas shelling destruction They have lived in fear or horror she added Even during the the greater part intense fighting there have been a few efforts in displacement camps and communities to keep children from falling behind in school even as everyone struggled with bombardment power cuts and shortages of food water and medicine But lessons were sporadic and certain families say they kept their children close and couldn t pitfall letting them attend classes fearing for their lives It s a race against time and UNRWA s Touma warns of a lost generation the longer the children stay out of school the tougher it will be to someday catch up with their peers elsewhere Touma is worried that if children miss out on coaching the more likely they are to fall prey to exploitation including child marriage child labor and recruitment into armed groups Al-Oweini like other families desperate to get their children back to school is still hopeful I want my children to be like their father who finished university she reported adding that her daughters want to become doctors or engineers They have ambition she commented But if they don t go to school they will have no future