It has been two years since tensions between Israel and Hamas escalated. But as the deadly conflict continues, the people of Gaza remain trapped in the middle of the violence.
Families have lost loved ones.
Homes have been damaged.
And stomachs growl with hunger, waiting to be filled.
The destruction has also crippled various sectors of society — one of this being the education system.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, 293 out of 307 schools in Gaza have been either completely destroyed or partially damaged due to Israeli attacks.
Likewise, a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in July stated that 97% of educational facilities in Gaza have sustained some level of damage.
Of these, 91% require extensive rehabilitation or complete reconstruction before they can be used by students again.
But the education crisis, painful as it is for Gaza’s students, has been overshadowed by a far more urgent struggle: hunger. According to a Reuters report, many students have set aside their academic dreams just to survive.
In its latest update on Thursday, Gaza’s health ministry reported four more deaths from hunger and malnutrition in the past 24 hours.
In total, 239 people, including 106 children, have died from hunger-related causes since the war began.
Israel, however, disputes these figures as well as reports of the destruction of schools.
Instead they accuse Hamas of using civilians and facilities such as schools to hide their forces and weapons.
Hamas strongly denies these allegations.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s local health authorities say that more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict erupted. Moreover, no concrete and steady ceasefire agreement has been reached between the two sides.