A teacher in Gaza offers ray of hope to children with classroom in rubble
Palestinian teacher Israa Abu Mustafa stresses that children's right to learn in a safe environment, to play in secure spaces, and to live free from fear.
Israa sets up a classroom tent on the rubble of her house to educate children in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, / Photo: Reuters
Gaza's schools lie in ruins or have been turned into shelters for families displaced by a war that has killed tens of thousands. Yet teacher Israa Abu Mustafa refuses to let death and destruction deprive traumatised children of an education.
After a four-storey building containing her home was demolished by an Israeli air strike, Abu Mustafa set up a classroom on the rubble under a tent.
Her impromptu school is one of the few remaining options for children in her neighbourhood.
"During the war, we had to fill water gallons and collect sticks for firewood. Then Miss Israa found us and brought us here to continue learning," said 10-year-old Hala Abu Mustafa.
The project began with 35 pupils and that number gradually increased to 70, ranging from pre-school to sixth graders aged 11-12.
Children attend a class given by Palestinian teacher Israa Abu Mustafa (30), whose educational centre was destroyed during the ongoing war, at a tent amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Nearly 20,000 students, teachers killed
Since October 7, schools have been bombed or turned into shelters for displaced people, leaving Gaza's estimated 625,000 school-aged children unable to attend classes.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, at least 10,490 school and university students have been killed in the Israeli offensive. More than 500 school teachers and university educators have also been killed.
Abu Mustafa's lessons go beyond just a curriculum. Her classes provide a sense of structure and routine in the chaos.
'What could be the child's wish?'
The tent is far from a traditional classroom where children once dreamed of one day studying abroad or becoming doctors and engineers who help the people of Gaza, which was impoverished and suffered from high unemployment long before the war erupted.
"We need chairs and tables so the children can learn properly instead of being forced to write on the ground," the 29-year-old teacher said.
With limited resources, Abu Mustafa teaches basic lessons including religious studies, trying to keep her students engaged despite the relentless bombardment.
Gaza and the occupied West Bank have internationally high literacy levels, and the under-resourced education system was a rare source of hope and pride among Palestinians.
"What could be the child's wish? They have the right to learn in a safe environment, they have the right to play in safe place, to not feel any fear," Abu Mustafa said.
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