Edward Beigbeder, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said after visiting the occupied Palestinian territories that children in Gaza have now endured three consecutive school years without formal education.
He warned that if schools remain closed beyond February 2026, the world could witness the complete loss of an entire generation of Palestinian children.
Following the ceasefire on October 10, 2025, UNICEF and its education partners managed to return about one-sixth of Gaza’s children to temporary learning spaces.
However, Beigbeder noted that 85% of Gaza’s schools have been destroyed or rendered unusable, while the remaining buildings serve as shelters for displaced families.
Severe shortages of transportation and basic supplies have left teachers and students struggling to reach even makeshift classrooms.
“Most teachers, like all residents of Gaza, are exhausted and focused on finding food and water for their families,” Beigbeder said.
He described visiting tent schools where wooden crates serve as desks and children sit on the cold ground.
“I have never seen teachers and students trying so hard to continue learning under such inhumane conditions,” he said.
UNICEF emphasized that education is essential for restoring social cohesion among traumatized children.
Yet, the Israeli regime continues to block the entry of construction materials and educational supplies needed to rebuild schools.
“How can we build classrooms without building materials?” Beigbeder asked, stressing that even basic items like books, notebooks, and pencils are now unavailable.
The humanitarian crisis has left water and food as the main priorities for survival, but UNICEF warned that neglecting education would deepen Gaza’s long-term devastation.
Beigbeder described the destruction as “beyond imagination,” saying that roughly 80% of the Gaza Strip has been leveled.
According to Gaza’s authorities, over 95% of schools and universities have been destroyed or converted into shelters.
Thousands of students and teachers have been killed, creating a massive gap in the education system.
The Israeli regime’s genocidal war has deprived around 650,000 students of their right to learn, with more than 19,000 students and 900 educators reported dead, injured, or missing.
At least 160 schools have been completely obliterated.
Despite the devastation, teachers and volunteers are attempting to restore some form of education by establishing temporary learning centers in displacement camps, where tens of thousands of students continue their studies amid ruins — clinging to hope that their future has not been entirely erased.