Students at the Islamic University of Gaza returned to in-person classes on Dec. 20, 2025, for the first time since the conflict suspended activities two years prior. The university has resumed partial operations on a campus that sustained significant damage and now serves as a shelter for approximately 500 displaced families.
The university grounds contain tents and damaged buildings, according to reports from the scene. Atta Siam, who is taking refuge on the campus, stated, “We came here after being displaced from Jabalia because we had nowhere else to go. But this place is for education. It’s not meant to be a shelter – it’s a place for our children to study.”
According to a UNESCO estimate, more than 95% of higher education campuses across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the conflict began in October 2023. The Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported in January that the conflict has left more than 750,000 students without schooling for two academic years. The organization’s figures stated that 494 schools and universities had been partially or completely destroyed, with 137 of them demolished. Al Mezan also reported that 12,800 students, 760 teachers and educational staff, and 150 academics had been killed.
In a separate event, Isra University, which was described as Gaza’s last functioning university, was demolished by Israeli forces in January 2024.
A group of U.N. experts issued a statement in April 2024 expressing concern over the destruction of educational infrastructure in Gaza. The statement noted, “When schools are destroyed, so too are hopes and dreams.” Some human rights groups and U.N. experts have used the term “scholasticide” to describe the extensive damage to the education system.
At the Islamic University, faculty and staff are operating with limited resources. Dr. Adel Awadallah, a professor, described efforts to make spaces usable. “We’ve borrowed motors to generate electricity to operate the university equipment,” he said, adding that plastic sheets were used to cover exposed walls. Four classrooms are currently operational to serve the student body.
Students expressed mixed feelings about the return. “I need a place where I can focus, that is fully qualified in every way,” said Youmna Albaba, a first-year medical student. “But I haven’t found what I imagined here. Still, I have hope because we are building everything from scratch.”
Efforts to provide remote learning by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and UNRWA have faced challenges, including electricity and internet outages and the ongoing displacement of families. Despite these circumstances, Albaba added, “I am happy because I attend lectures in person.”
