Gaza’s 2026–27 school year: temporary classrooms, shortages and new funding

A new school year under difficult conditions

Gaza’s 2026–27 school year began September 19 after prolonged disruption. Classes are taking place through temporary learning spaces and remote arrangements, with many families still displaced. The reopening is a step toward restoring education, but it does not mean that ordinary school conditions have returned. [1][2]

A September 19 Arabic report by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed cites the Palestinian education ministry’s figure of about 541,000 students for the new school year and about 700 face-to-face learning locations. It also describes virtual schools for children inside Gaza and abroad. These are system-level figures, not a verified count of children attending fully equipped classrooms every day. [1]

What translated local reporting adds

The Arabic account describes school buildings still sheltering displaced families, makeshift teaching spaces, and supply shortages. Remote lessons bring additional obstacles because electricity, internet connections and suitable devices are not reliably available. [1]

Al Jazeera’s field report also documents improvised classrooms and scarce materials. [3]

Reuters’ September 21 report cites UNICEF’s estimate that 98 percent of Gaza’s schools had been damaged or destroyed. That combined category must not be shortened to “destroyed.” Its interviews describe students returning despite inadequate equipment and substantial disruption. [2]

A further funding announcement

Arab News reported on September 25 that Education Cannot Wait announced $3 million in seed funding for pop-up preschools in Gaza at a United Nations briefing the previous day. The report also describes the fund’s plans to support children injured during the war. [4]

An announced funding commitment is different from a completed program. The coverage does not demonstrate that the new preschool spaces are all operating, that the money has been fully disbursed, or that every intended child has received support. Those are separate milestones for later reporting. [4]

September 27: children still outside education

New field reporting from Australia’s ABC adds a clearer account of who is still missing out. It cites UNICEF’s estimate that around 200,000 children are not being reached by education. That estimate is a different measure from enrollment and learning-site totals above; the figures should not be subtracted to calculate attendance. [5]

ABC also spoke with the mother of a child with disabilities whose previous school offered adapted desks and teaching. She described the loss of suitable provision and fears about damaged roads and travel. This individual account illustrates an accessibility barrier; it does not establish how many children with disabilities are currently excluded. [5]

How the sources compare