625,000 students from across the Gaza Strip attended their first day of school today, August 26.
This number includes 305,000 students who attend government schools, 300,000 students who are pupils in UNRWA schools, and 21,000 students in private schools.
“We congratulate our students and their families on the start of the new academic year 2023/2024,” Salama Maarouf, The head of the government media office in Gaza, said in a statement.
“We salute our educational professionals, who are responsible for educating our people, and promoting noble and moral values,” Maarouf added.
Over 2 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom are refugees.
Israel imposed a hermetic siege in 2007, a few months following the electoral victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas.
Since then, several deadly major wars in Gaza have been launched by Israel in the midst of an unrelenting economic blockade.
The educational sector has been one of the most affected as a result of the Israeli siege, as many universities, schools, and kindergartens were bombed by Israel, and due to the lack of supplies and growing poverty.
According to Maarouf, there are a total of 803 schools in Gaza, distributed as follows: 448 government schools, 288 UNRWA schools, and 67 private schools.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
