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As the dust begins to settle over the ruins of Gaza, the world faces a moral reckoning. It is no longer enough to deliver sacks of flour, medical supplies or tents to the survivors. The children of Gaza — hundreds of thousands of them — need something far more enduring than relief aid. They need education. They need the promise of a future that stretches beyond hunger, fear and rubble. For too long, Gaza’s children have been denied not only the right to live but also the right to learn — and in that deprivation lies the greatest long-term danger of all.

Today, nearly 1 million children in Gaza are out of school. Entire neighborhoods that once housed classrooms are now piles of concrete dust. The UN estimates that more than 80 percent of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed and many of those that remain are being used as shelters for displaced families. The blackboards are gone, the teachers scattered or dead and the pupils — many of them orphaned — have lost both their classrooms and their childhoods.

In humanitarian crises, the immediate priorities — food, water, medicine — are obvious. But in Gaza, where war has stretched from months into years, survival must not be mistaken for living. Education is not a luxury that can wait until peace returns; it is the foundation on which peace depends. Without it, Gaza’s next generation will grow up ill-equipped to rebuild, govern or heal their society. A child who cannot read or write cannot rebuild a nation.

The numbers are harrowing. UNICEF warns that young Gazans risk becoming a “lost generation,” with tens of thousands of children showing signs of trauma, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Many can no longer concentrate, sleep or communicate normally. A 10-year-old who has seen their siblings buried or their home bombed cannot return to learning without psychological support. This means rebuilding schools must go hand in hand with rebuilding minds. Education in Gaza must be both academic and therapeutic — a bridge between survival and hope.

Every war leaves physical destruction but the war on Gaza has inflicted a deeper kind of devastation: an assault on the human spirit. When a child loses years of schooling, they lose more than knowledge — they lose structure, dreams and the sense that the future can be different. That loss is what perpetuates cycles of despair and violence.

And yet, amid the destruction, the courage of Gaza’s teachers and students remains extraordinary. Many educators have turned shelters into makeshift classrooms, using scraps of paper and burned textbooks. Children gather in courtyards to recite lessons by memory. Parents — despite hunger and grief — push their children to learn anything, to cling to a routine that affirms life. These acts of resilience are not trivial; they are quiet forms of resistance against the machinery of dehumanization.

Education is not a luxury that can wait until peace returns; it is the foundation on which peace depends

Hani Hazaimeh

The international community must see education in Gaza as an emergency priority, not an afterthought to be addressed once the reconstruction begins. Learning cannot wait for perfect conditions — it must begin even amid the ruins. Mobile classrooms, temporary learning centers, digital education programs and community teaching hubs can all help restore a sense of normalcy.

But rebuilding Gaza’s education system will require more than materials. It will demand a new global commitment to justice and accountability. The destruction of schools is not collateral damage — it is a war crime. International law protects educational institutions precisely because they represent the future of nations. When schools are bombed, the crime extends beyond the immediate victims; it strikes at the heart of an entire generation’s right to progress. Those responsible must face accountability before international courts, while reconstruction funding must include specific allocations for restoring and expanding educational infrastructure.

Moreover, the education Gaza’s children receive must be forward-looking. The world’s support should therefore extend beyond cement and steel — it must include training teachers, funding psychosocial programs and providing technology that connects Gaza’s youth with the wider world.

The argument that “it’s too soon” to talk about education while basic needs remain unmet is short-sighted. Food nourishes the body for a day; education nourishes the soul for a lifetime. Healthcare preserves life but education gives that life meaning. For Gaza’s children, whose lives have been defined by displacement and deprivation, schooling is the only way to reclaim agency.

The responsibility lies not only with governments and aid agencies but also with ordinary citizens around the world. Universities, nongovernmental organizations and education networks can establish partnerships with Gaza’s teachers, provide remote learning materials and support trauma counseling programs. Digital education platforms can help children continue their studies even amid displacement. Gaza’s youth are tech-savvy, multilingual and hungry to learn — they need tools, not pity.

And for the Arab world, in particular, supporting Gaza’s education system is not charity — it is a duty. The region’s future stability depends on whether its children, especially in places like Gaza, grow up believing they have something to live for. Scholarships, exchange programs and cross-border teacher training can all serve as lifelines to reintegrate Gaza into the broader Arab and global educational fabric.

In the end, rebuilding Gaza’s schools is about far more than repairing buildings. It is about restoring identity, dignity and hope. It is about telling a child who has lost everything that the world still believes in their future.

When the bombs fell, classrooms collapsed — but the right to learn did not. If the world truly means to stand with Gaza, it must stand with its children’s right to education. Food will keep them alive. Medicine will keep them healthy. But only education will make them free.

• Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh