Children in Gaza long for their pre-conflict school days….

According to Our Reporters, traumatized 10-year-old pupils in Gaza gaze at their demolished classrooms as a somber reminder of the schooling and playground time they have lost since the conflict broke out more than six months ago.

At recess, we would go outside. We’d enter the classroom and have a look around. Fifth grader Abed Al-Qara, who was examining the damage with his classmate Muhammad Al-Fajem in Bani Suhaila, which is east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, stated that the principal would visit the classrooms.

“He would offer the books to us. We would go there and wait at the school entrance to see who comes and goes. We were thriving.

Buildings full of bullets. Papers strewn all over a destroyed classroom. Rip posters from the walls. books that are damaged.

All of it serves as a somber reminder of the dreams and education that those who stand for the future of Gaza—a crowded region with acute shortages of food, medicine, and water—have lost since the conflict broke out on October 7.

According to Israeli counts, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that resulted in 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of over 200 individuals, highlighting serious shortcomings in Israeli intelligence.

Since then, meanwhile, Haaretz has reported that many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians Israel claimed were killed by the Palestinian Resistance had actually been killed by Israeli army helicopters and tanks.

In retaliation, Israel launched an air and ground offensive that, according to local health authorities, has killed over 33,000 Palestinians. It has also left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, which are vital to a community where children make up roughly half of the 2.3 million people living in Gaza.

Young pupils who were eager to learn now question whether they will ever be able to return to school and pack their textbooks. Young and elderly alike in Gaza are frantic for any indication that the violence may halt. However, none exist.

While ideas are exchanged back and forth, mediators have not been able to sufficiently reduce the gaps between the parties to achieve a ceasefire.

Muhammad Al-Khudari, a teacher, reflected on the extensive destruction of the educational system at all levels, from kindergartens to universities, while sitting on debris and writing on a piece of paper.

He declared, “We demand that everyone pay attention to the educational process in Gaza and that education be restored to its pre-war state.”

However, some people, like Muhammad Al-Fajem, a fifth grader, are not giving up.

I was among the best. I used to receive 98%. I used to receive 100%. “I was among the best,” he declared.

“We’re going to build up tents and study inside of them. Regardless of the expense, we shall study there. This served as our classroom. View the principal’s room. He used to bring candies and books to us. He would provide us everything. He used to give us toys.