Gaza children returning to school | The Express Tribune

NUSEIRAT:

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced this week that following the start of the ceasefire Gaza, it was reopening some schools in the territory, with children gradually returning to classes.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X Tuesday that more than 25,000 schoolchildren had already joined the agency’s “temporary learning spaces”, while some 300,000 would follow online classes. At Al Hassaina school in western Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, classes had just resumed despite the shortage of available classrooms.

Warda Radwan, an 11-year-old student, said she was looking forward to returning to her learning routine. “I am in sixth grade now, but I lost two years of schooling because of displacement and the war,” she told AFP.

During the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, Al Hassaina, like many other UNRWA facilities throughout the territory, became a shelter for dozens of displaced families. Their presence was still visible in the lines of laundry strung across the building’s three floors.

In the school’s courtyard, young girls lined up for the morning assembly, performing stretching exercises under their teachers’ supervision and chanting: “Long live Palestine!” As classes began, about 50 girls crammed into a single classroom, sitting on the floor with no desks or chairs.

Jenin Abu Jarad, a relative of one of the students, said she was thankful to see the children back in classes. “During this [war] time, all they could do was fetch water, get food, or play in the streets. But thankfully, about a week to 10 days ago, schools began reopening gradually,” she added.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it would hand over the bodies of three Israeli captives later as part of the ongoing hostage-prisoner exchange under a ceasefire agreement for Gaza with Israel.