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It has been over 550 days since the beginning of the genocide. According to Palestinian officials, more than 50,000 people in Gaza have been killed so far, with at least 100 children killed or wounded every day since Israel violated the ceasefire agreement in March (Le Poidevin, 2025; UNWRA, 2025). But Palestinians should not be reduced to statistics of the dead. For the past 18 months, despite relentless attacks on their homes, schools, and futures, Palestinian children and young adults have continued to fight for their right to education.
With the American Historical Association’s (AHA) council vetoing a resolution in January to condemn Israel’s destruction of education in Gaza and the Organization of American Historians (OAH) passing a resolution to condemn Israel’s scholasticide this week, it is more urgent than ever to defend each child’s right to learn (Mulla, 2025).
The systematic targeting of schools and universities is more than an attack on infrastructure; it is an attack on the survival of a people — a scholasticide intended as a tool of erasure. According to the most recent report published by the Education Cluster, in Gaza “658,000 school-aged children currently have no access to formal education” (Education Cluster, 2025). On top of this, “approximately 95.2% of 564 school buildings in Gaza have suffered damage, with nearly 88% needing significant reconstruction before functioning again”.
As Sahar, a Palestinian teacher from Gaza, so powerfully puts it, “education is the most powerful weapon a Palestinian can possess” and it must, at all costs, be protected.
Sumud Educational Hub
Founded in 2024, Sumud Educational Hub has been doing just that. Through free, online immersive classes, it provides displaced Palestinian children with stability, knowledge and a sense of community. Run and managed by a team of dedicated Palestinian teachers, the hub has provided education for over 700 students in the past 9 months, teaching everything from the Palestinian curriculum to STEM and language courses and mental health and entrepreneurship skills. It was set up as a means of empowerment and has become a lifeline for many displaced Palestinian children, whether they remain in Gaza or are displaced in Egypt or elsewhere.
As a volunteer with Sumud, I have seen firsthand the dedication, enthusiasm and determination displaced Palestinian children have towards their studies. As I open my laptop to begin our class each week, their voices spark a sense of gratitude within me. The now familiar sound of drones entwined with laughter has become a strange but undeniable symbol of hope and empowerment – one where I am inspired everyday by the dedication, care and empathy that these children emulate. They are not passive victims of war; they are active participants in shaping their own futures.
Sahar’s Story
But rather than recount my own experiences, this story is better placed through the words of someone who embodies this fight for education.
Sahar, a Palestinian teacher and mother of two, explained why she began volunteering as an English teacher with Sumud Educational Hub. After being forcibly displaced to Egypt during the genocide in Gaza, she did not want her children to miss out on their education and enrolled them in Sumud’s program. Seeing the impact Sumud’s classes had on her own children, she decided to use her degree in English Language and Teaching Methods to give back to her community.
Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people has been brutal and devastating. But amidst the brutality, there are stories of hope and resilience that deserve to be heard. Sahar’s story recounts just this. She speaks passionately about her experience of teaching English, saying that “for me, this experience was truly transformative, and I measured its success through the deep connections I built with my students.” She added that “after several months of teaching Gaza’s students, I feel immense pride in what we have achieved—helping them catch up on an entire academic year and witnessing remarkable progress in their learning”.
Yet, for her students, continuing their fight for education has been an uphill battle. Sahar told me about the difficulties Palestinian children face in accessing education due to constant displacement, lack of stability and lack of access to internet and basic resources. She expressed that “the greatest challenge of all was the students’ psychological state. Many had lost family members, most were survivors of massacres, and some had even lost their classmates during the genocide.”
Despite these challenges, education has had a distinctly positive impact on many of her students. Sahar told me about Khalil, a fifth-grade student, who attends her classes alongside his siblings. She said that “one day his mother reached out to share that he was experiencing severe depression and emotional distress. Their family was attending lessons from inside a tent in *Mawasi Khan Younis*, an area devoid of basic living conditions. She asked Sahar to personally engage him by addressing him by name during lessons, helping to rebuild his confidence and motivation. This request underscored the immense psychological challenges [her] students faced and reinforced the importance of fostering a supportive and empathetic learning environment.”
The Power of Education; A Fundamental Right
With 90 percent of Palestinians displaced in Gaza and many unable to access even the most basic resources, children’s education has been severely disrupted (United Nations, 2025). Yet this is not only the case in Gaza. The escalation of ethnic cleansing attempts within the West bank has forced 20,459 Palestinians (and counting) to flee their homes, including almost the entirety of Jenin Refugee Camp (OCHA, 2025).
Without homes or schools, Palestinian children throughout Palestine are facing the detrimental effects of scholasticide – just one aspect of Israel’s ongoing genocide. Education is a right that should be afforded to every single child and is a fight that should not be forgotten.
As Sahar puts it “I believe that continuing education is not only the right path but also the most powerful weapon a Palestinian can possess. Beyond being a fundamental right, education is what will equip them to connect with the world, assert their identity, and claim their rights—just like any other child across the globe”.
References
Education Cluster, Save the Children and UNICEF. February 2025. “Education Overview in 2024: The State of Education in Gaza and the West Bank “Current Realities and Future Priorities”.
Le Poidevin, Olivia. 2025. “Multiple UN agencies call for urgent renewal of ceasefire in Gaza as death toll mounts”. Reuters. April 7th , 2025. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/multiple-un-agencies-call-urgent-renewal-ceasefire-gaza-death-toll-mounts-2025-04-07/
Mulla, Imran. 2025. “Organization of American Historians votes to condemn Israeli ‘scholasticide’ in Gaza.” Middle East Eye. April 8th, 2025. Available at: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/organisation-american-historians-votes-condemn-israeli-scholasticide-gaza
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 2025. “Data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank”. Accessed April 8, 2025.
United Nations. 2025. “Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza: Needs Assessment for Gaza, Humanitarian and Socioeconomic Impact of Gaza War, UN Response”. New York: United Nations
United Nations Relief and Works Agency. 2025. “UNRWA Commissioner-General, Gaza: Harrowing. At least 100 children are reported killed or injured every day in Gaza.” Available at: https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-commissioner-general-gaza-harrowing-least-100-children-are-reported-killed
