Children living in Gaza could lose half a decade of learning due to Israel’s war, which is creating an entire “lost generation” of young people, a report has warned.

The study, by academics working in partnership with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, estimated that in the event of an imminent halt in hostilities, pupils would lose two years of education. That could increase to five years if fighting continues as long as 2026. However, even the most pessimistic scenario does not account for the additional effects of trauma, famine and forcible displacement.

Studies conducted elsewhere into the effects of Covid-19 school closures suggest that if education resumed as a priority, the loss of about two to five years of learning could be offset. “In Gaza, the speed of recovery is likely to be more adversely affected by the compounded effects of Covid-19 and war – associated with famine, trauma, and previous impact of attacks on the schooling system,” said the report.

“However, one certainty remains: the longer the delay in resuming educational activities, the more profound the impact on educational losses will be. Additionally, students’ trauma further complicates recovery efforts, potentially impeding their ability to re-engage educationally and achieve expected competencies.”

Prof Pauline Rose, director of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning Centre, University of Cambridge, said that in addition to planning to rebuild Gaza’s shattered education system, there is an urgent need for immediate educational support for children. “Education is a right for all young people. We have a collective responsibility to protect it,” she said.

The loss of education also risks children losing faith in the future and concepts such as human rights. Interviewees reported some children questioning values such as equality, human rights and tolerance when such views were taught in the shelters. “This is a full generation of trauma. It will take a generation to overcome it,” a humanitarian aid official said.

The report warned that education had not been prioritised in international aid efforts, in favour of other areas. Analysis shows that 3.5 per cent of aid for Gaza had been invested in education. Major donors such as the US and Germany have neglected education in their aid packages, and blockades continued to hinder the delivery of resources on the ground. “Education, simply put, is not seen as life saving,” the report warned.

More than 41,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its operation. More than 10,600 of those killed were children. Almost all school buildings in Gaza, estimated to be about 90 per cent, have also been either entirely or partially destroyed as a result of Israeli strikes, according to the report. Since August, UNRWA has provided education in the shelters, reaching about 8,000 children. The war began when Hamas and allied militant groups attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing about 1,200 people.

“Young people’s prospects in Gaza are being extinguished and our findings show that with it they are losing hope,” said Prof Maha Shuayb, director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies. “Education is central to stabilising that spiral of decline. If it is simply erased, the consequences will be far-reaching.”

Without more funding and access to learning, structured play, other forms of support and the long-term repercussions for Gaza’s next generation will only worsen, the report warned. It called for immediate steps on the resumption of education, which include providing counselling, safe learning spaces, and support for pupils and educators with disabilities as well as an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to occupation.

“Education is the only asset the Palestinian people have not been dispossessed of,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner general. “They have proudly invested in the education of their children in the hope for a better future. Today, more than 625,000 deeply traumatised school-aged children are living in the rubble in Gaza. Bringing them back to learning should be our collective priority. Failing to do that will not only lead to a lost generation but also sow the seeds for more extremism, hatred and violence.”