The nascent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is—finally—a fragile glimmer of hope for 1 million Palestinian children; hope that they can begin to recover and rebuild their lives after more than two years of horrific war. But that hope depends on sustaining the cease-fire, facilitating the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza at levels sufficient to match the enormous needs, and urgently restarting critical services, including education.
Two years of bombardments and fighting have inflicted catastrophic devastation across the territory—more than 20,000 children reported killed and thousands more injured, mass displacement, and the destruction of most homes, neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools. Famine was confirmed in August in Gaza City, and Gaza’s entire under-five population, 320,000 children, is at risk of acute malnutrition. More than 58,000 children have lost one or both parents. And every child has experienced fear, loss, and severe disruptions to their learning.
Read More: Why Aid Is Crucial to the Gaza Cease-fire
This includes 12-year-old Yazied who remembers the mornings before the war, when his mother would wake him for school. He would eat breakfast, put on his uniform, and head out feeling happy and full of energy. Now, things are very different. Yazied can no longer attend school. Instead, he goes to a UNICEF temporary learning space in Deir al Balah every other day. All UNICEF learning spaces have long waitlists. Like many children in Gaza, he told UNICEF that he longs for his school to be as it once was. On the days he cannot attend, Yazied helps his family with their daily struggle to survive, fetching water and food from a community kitchen.
Given the utter devastation and dire humanitarian conditions inside Gaza, we risk a lost generation of children like Yazied.
UNICEF and our partners on the ground are doing everything we can to respond. While aid entering Gaza has increased since the cease-fire, we are still prevented from bringing in sufficient levels of assistance and the full range of necessary supplies. Aid is packed and ready to move—there is no excuse not to let it flow when children are in desperate need.
We call on Israel to permit rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access across all crossings into Gaza, alongside commercial trucking.
UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have truckloads of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza—everything from water purification tablets and nutrition treatment to vaccines and learning materials. With predictable access, fuel, and clearances, we can reach children with the essentials they need to survive and recover.
This must include the entry of all materials for education and mental health support which have been denied for almost two years. We also call for the swift clearance of restricted items, including all types of tents; freezers for the safe storage of vaccines; medical equipment; high power generators; pipes for water system rehabilitation; equipment for water treatment plants; construction materials; and equipment to clear mines and unexploded ordnance.
Humanitarian agencies must also have the necessary resources to do our jobs effectively. Restrictions on operational tools—such as communication equipment, vehicles, and cash to run programs—must be lifted without delay.
UNICEF is calling on all parties to uphold the cease-fire and ensure safe movement for humanitarian personnel throughout the Gaza Strip.
We are particularly concerned about a crisis within the crisis—the collapse of children’s education. Before the war, 98% of children in Gaza had access to education—one of the highest rates in the region. Today, an estimated 97% of schools and learning centers in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and over 650,000 school-aged children have been out of formal education for more than two years.
Education isn’t a luxury: it is a lifeline that can protect children today, while helping to shape Gaza’s recovery tomorrow. Schooling is an essential lifesaving service that restores routine and hope, and provides access to mental health support, nutrition screening, vaccinations, and other critical assistance.
Today, UNICEF is reaching 15% of school-aged children with foundational learning—including reading, writing, and mathematics. But the demand far exceeds capacity and there are waiting lists for all temporary learning centers. We must urgently clear the rubble, unexploded ordnance, and expedite repairs on the few classrooms still standing to get more children back in school.
This will require more than just Israel opening all border crossings. It demands a fully-fledged back-to-learning campaign. The responsibility to protect and support Palestinian children rests with all of us. Every government, donor, and institution has a role to play by funding the response, supporting recovery, and insisting that aid and education flow freely.
A cease-fire that does not facilitate the entry of essential aid—including education supplies—will fail Gaza’s children. Let this be the moment we open every crossing, clear every barrier, and put children—and their right to education and all essential services—first.
The post The Urgent Need to Get Gaza’s Children Back to School appeared first on TIME.
