Education for 1.5 million Palestinian children disrupted for fourth academic year

RAMALLAH (September 10, 2026) – All 1.5 million school-aged children in the occupied Palestinian territory are unable to access a safe and quality education for a fourth consecutive academic year.^[1]

Nearly three years since violence escalated in Gaza, almost all school buildings (97.5%) are damaged while 86% of 649 kindergartens assessed have either been destroyed, sustained damage, or are located in inaccessible areas, Save the Children determined in a rapid damage assessment.^[2]  

In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, more than 834,000 school-aged children do not have access to safe and quality education, according to the Education Cluster, of which Save the Children is a member.  

More than 300 children have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire agreement last October, including eight-year-old  Wafaa Akila, who was killed alongside her father in western Gaza last week when an Israeli strike hit their car as the returned home from school.  

Despite all the challenges, Palestinian children said they are determined to continue their education.  

“We are all in agreement to continue in our right to education and we have very big hopes to continue and achieve our ambitions,” said Lama, a 13-year-old student in the West Bank.  

"For me, school is not just math and Arabic. School is life”, said Amjad, a 13-year-old student from Gaza.  

Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said:    

“As children around the world return to school, reconnect with their classmates, and settle into new routines, Palestinian children continue to face barriers that deny them safe and consistent access to education.  

“The impact extends far beyond missed school days. For Palestinian children, schools are places of learning, protection, psychosocial support, and social development. Their loss has profound consequences for children's wellbeing, cognitive development, and future life chances. Young children are missing critical developmental milestones; older students face interrupted examinations, delayed graduation, and shrinking opportunities to pursue further education.  

“This systematic dismantling of Palestinian education is denying an entire generation of its right to learn and the opportunities, dignity, and future that education makes possible."

Save the Children has worked in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1953, with a permanent presence since 1973. We work with partners to help provide quality education, protection for children, early childhood development support, and employment opportunities for young people.    

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Notes:

[1] According to UNICEF, about 700,000 children (ages 4-17) in Gaza missed formal in-person schooling for nearly three school years, since the escalation of conflict. In the West Bank, more than 834,000 school aged children in the West Bank don’t have access to safe and quality education, according to the Education Cluster, of which Save the Children is a member.  

[2] The results of a rapid damage assessment conducted by Save the Children in August 2026 reveal that 86% (563) of kindergartens in Gaza have either been destroyed, sustained damage, or are located in inaccessible areas behind the Israeli army-controlled “yellow line”.  

[3] According to UNICEF Nearly 98 per cent of school buildings have been damaged in Gaza; over 93 per cent require major rehabilitation or full reconstruction; around 81 per cent were directly hit. Schools that once served almost half a million students are now unsafe or gone.