Gaza children risk sniper shooting for attending tent schools | Israeli-Palestinian conflict News

In a small tent dwarfed by the sound of nearby gunfire, seven-year-old Tulin prepares for his first day of school in two years.

For most children, this would be a time of excitement. For Tulin and his mother, it is a chapter of terror.

The relentless Israeli war has destroyed the vast majority of Gaza’s educational infrastructure, forcing families to set up makeshift “tent schools” in dangerous proximity to Israeli forces – an area demarcated by Israel as the “yellow zone” west of the separation line, often just meters from danger.

“Until my daughter goes to school, I honestly walk with my heart in my hand,” Tulin’s mother told Al Jazeera correspondent Shady Shamieh.

“Often I find myself unintentionally following her until she gets to school. I feel like there’s something [dangerous]but I want her to learn,” she added. “If it wasn’t for this situation, she would be in second grade now. But we are determined.

“Assume the sleeping position”

The journey to the classroom is perilous. Walking through the rubble of Beit Lahiya, Tulin admits she is terrified of open spaces.

“When I go to school, I’m afraid of shootings,” Tulin said. “I can’t find a wall to hide behind so that bombings or stray bullets don’t hit us. »

Inside the tents, protection is non-existent. The canvas walls can’t stop the bullets, but the students sit on the floor, determined to learn.

Their teacher describes a grueling daily routine where teaching is frequently interrupted by sniper fire.

“The location is difficult, close to occupation [forces]”, explained the teacher. “When the shooting starts, we tell the children: ‘Take the sleeping position.’ I get goosebumps praying to God that there are no injuries. We make them lie on the ground until the shooting stops.

“We were exposed to gunfire several times,” she added. “Despite this, we remain. The policy of occupation is ignorance and our policy is knowledge.”

Among the students is Ahmed, who lost his father in the war. “We arrive with difficulty and leave with difficulty because of the shooting,” he told Al Jazeera. “But I want to fulfill the dream of my martyr father, who wanted me to become a doctor.”

“One of the biggest disasters”

The desperate scenes in Beit Lahiya reflect a broader collapse of the education system in the enclave.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday, Kazem Abu Khalaf, the spokesperson for UNICEF in Palestine, described the situation as “one of the biggest disasters”.

“Our figures indicate that 98 percent of all schools in the Gaza Strip have suffered varying degrees of damage, up to total destruction,” Abu Khalaf said.

He noted that 88 percent of these schools require either complete rehabilitation or complete reconstruction.

The human toll is staggering: around 638,000 school-age children and 70,000 kindergarten-age children have lost two full school years and are entering a third year of deprivation.

Trauma and speech disorders

As UNICEF and its partners have established 109 temporary learning centers serving 135,000 students, the psychological scars of war are surfacing in alarming ways.

Abu Khalaf revealed that the field teams observed a serious regression in development among the students.

“In one area, [colleagues] We found that about 25 percent of the children we are trying to target have developed speech difficulties,” Abu Khalaf said. “This requires redoubled efforts from education specialists.”

The banning of books

Beyond the structural destruction and trauma, the education sector is facing a logistical blockade. Abu Khalaf confirmed that since the start of the war in October 2023, virtually no educational materials have been allowed into the Gaza Strip.

“The biggest challenge, in truth, is that… almost no educational materials have entered Gaza,” he said.

UNICEF is currently preparing to launch a “Return to Learning” campaign targeting 200,000 children, focusing on Arabic, English, mathematics and science, as well as recreational activities aimed at “repairing children’s psyches above all else.”

However, Abu Khalaf stressed that the success of any campaign depends on Israel lifting restrictions.

“We are communicating with all parties, including the Israeli side, to allow the entry of educational materials,” he said. “It is in no one’s interest for a child in Gaza not to go to school. »