With the war in Gaza winding down, the push to rebuild the country is just starting. The Associated Press is reporting that humanitarian groups are working "frantically" to open temporary schools.
With most of Gaza's schools destroyed, humanitarian officials are working frantically to re-open dozens of makeshift schools. pic.twitter.com/CYUwNQouSO
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 17, 2025
Bissan Younis looked dejected as she stood outside a cluster of tents surrounded by rubble and debris, a wasteland that is a common sight across the Gaza Strip. The tiny encampment was yet another makeshift school that has no room for her teenage son Kareem.
“Most of the schools are destroyed,” she told The Associated Press. “Every school I go to tells me there is no room.”
More than 600,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have missed the past two years of school because of the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Instead of studying and socializing, they have been repeatedly displaced, fled airstrikes and shelling and often spent their days scouring for water and food for their families.
Why are the schools destroyed? Well, the U.N. and the UNRWA both reported that Hamas used schools to store and launch rockets, and conduct other military operations.
In 2014, the UNRWA issued a condemnation of Hamas, calling the behavior a "flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law." The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Hamas of violating the rules of war by hiding rockets in schools. In 2015, Amnesty International cited credible reports of Hamas launching rockets and mortars from civilian facilities, including schools. Stratcom also issued a similar report, saying Hamas used schools, hospitals, and mosques as locations for military infrastructure and rocket launches.
Israel has every right to target those sites because Hamas has turned them into legitimate targets. If the international community doesn't want Israel to level a school, they need to hold Hamas accountable.
Make sure these schools aren't built over tunnels and weapon caches ... https://t.co/gGeuXNcNz4
— Redneck Rogue Elf, 🐿 Whisperer (@TheRogue_Elf) November 17, 2025
It's a very simple solution to prevent the destruction of schools.