The Destruction of Childhood in Gaza
Israel’s genocide has destroyed Gaza’s schools, forcing children into labour, trauma and a daily struggle for survival. Restoring education is essential to protecting a generation from permanent harm. By Rida Thabet For generations, Gaza’s schools were far more than just brick-and-mortar buildings with blackboards and desks. They were the vibrant heartbeat of the community. In these classrooms, education went hand-in-hand with character building. Schools were safe spaces where children learned not only how to read, write, and solve equations, but also how to share, collaborate, and belong. The daily routine of the school yard reinforced a rich social fabric—one rooted in Palestinian collective values. In these spaces, childhood was protected, and the spirit of community was passed down from one generation to the next. Today, relentless war and repeated forced displacement have shattered those safe spaces. As families are uprooted from their homes and forced into overcrowded displacement camps, the physical and social structures of everyday life have collapsed. Under the crushing weight of severe scarcity, the deep-seated spirit of solidarity that once defined Gazan society is under immense strain. When survival becomes the sole priority, social norms inevitably shift. In the camps, a neighbour is no longer seen as a partner in a shared life, but as a direct competitor for life’s most scarce resources: a jerrycan of clean water, a piece of bread, or a small patch of shade under a tent. The collaborative environment that classrooms spent decades cultivating has been replaced by an unforgiving landscape driven...
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