The Destruction of Education in Gaza Represents a Fundamental Human Rights Violation Against Children
Source: Mosab Abu Toha. "Back to School, in Gaza | The New Yorker." October 7, 2026. www.newyorker.com
The Gist
A Palestinian-American writer describes how his nephews and nieces in Gaza now attend school in tents surrounded by rubble, sitting on dirt without books or desks, compared to his own normal, well-resourced school years in the same region. He argues that years of bombing schools and disrupting education have robbed Gaza's children of a basic human right and caused lasting developmental harm that may not be reversible.
Conclusion
Palestinian children in Gaza are being systematically deprived of their fundamental right to education, with devastating and likely irreversible consequences for an entire generation.
Premises
- Gaza's education infrastructure has been repeatedly destroyed by Israeli military strikes, including direct attacks on schools serving as shelters (Al-Fakhoora in 2009, 2014, and twice in 2023, killing over 100 people combined)
- Children now attend school only 9 hours per week (versus the author's 27 hours), lack basic supplies like textbooks and chairs, and sometimes sit on dirt or use bricks as desks
- Even during a declared ceasefire, children face real danger walking to school, including gunfire that forces them to drop to the ground
- The psychological trauma of displacement, loss of family members, and constant danger compounds the educational deprivation, with little support available
- Independent UN and UNICEF reports confirm severe learning loss, developmental delays, and that children have been 'left behind' due to collapsed educational and early childhood services
- Basic school supplies have become unaffordable (notebooks now cost 7+ dollars, backpacks quadrupled in price), forcing families to choose between food and education
- This represents the fourth consecutive year of disrupted education, meaning some children have missed multiple foundational grade levels entirely
Assumptions
- Access to consistent, quality education is a fundamental human right that must be protected even during conflict
- The destruction of schools and educational infrastructure, given its repeated pattern over 15+ years, reflects systemic disregard for this right rather than isolated incidents
- Early childhood and primary education loss has long-term, difficult-to-reverse effects on cognitive and social development
- Comparison between the author's pre-war educational experience and current conditions is a valid measure of what has been lost
- The reader will find the documented destruction and personal testimony credible as evidence of systemic harm
- Military necessity claims (e.g., Israel's statement about minimizing civilian harm) do not adequately justify the scale and repetition of strikes on schools