'Spirit of learning' returns to Gaza as universities slowly reopen

At the Islamic University of Gaza, assistant vice president Saeb Al Awini walks among shattered classrooms and laboratories.

“Out of 11 main buildings, seven were completely destroyed,” he told The National. “The remaining four were badly damaged. But we refused to surrender.”

Despite the devastation left by Israel's offensive on Gaza city, the university managed to restore two buildings as a nucleus for resuming teaching. On November 8, in-person lessons began for medicine and engineering students, a symbolic return to life in a city still blanketed by dust and grief.

“This isn’t just about reopening,” Dr Al Awini says. “It’s a statement of survival, a message that Palestinians will live, learn, and rebuild despite war and blockade.”

Yet challenges loom large. More than 80 per cent of the university’s facilities and laboratories lie in ruins. As far as rebuilding goes, cement prices have skyrocketed from 25 shekels to 1,500 per bag, and an Israeli blockade still prevents the entry of essential material. The university could provide only 150 seats for 1,500 students.

“Even so,” Dr Al Awini added, “we’re determined to keep going. Every repaired bench, every reopened classroom, it’s an act of defiance.”

Among the sectors ravaged during what Gazans call the “war of extermination,” higher education was one of the most systematically targeted. Ismail Al Thawabta, director of the government media office in Gaza, said Israeli forces sought not only to destroy buildings but to “erase Palestinian scientific and cultural identity”.

The toll is staggering. At least 90 per cent of Gaza’s universities, colleges and other institutes were damaged or destroyed. More than 165 educational institutions were completely wiped out, while 392 others suffered partial destruction. Among the ruins lie Gaza’s flagship universities, the Islamic University, Al Azhar, and Al Aqsa, once vibrant centres of research and education.

The government estimates losses exceeding $4 billion to the education sector. Worse still, Gaza has lost an estimated 193 scholars, academics, and researchers, silencing their knowledge and mentorship.

Before the war, about 88,000 students studied in 19 higher education institutions across the strip. Today, that number is expected to drop by more than half, with countless students displaced, impoverished, or mourning their families.

For students like Ibrahim Al Barsh, 18, the reopening of universities is nothing short of a miracle. “I passed my high school exams after two years of waiting because of the war,” he told The National. “I thought I would never make it to university, most campuses were destroyed.”

When he saw that Al Azhar University had announced plans to reopen, Ibrahim rushed to the Gaza city campus. “They had prepared everything for new students,” he recalls with a smile. “It felt like a message of life amid the ruins.”

Now enrolled in the Arabic language department, Ibrahim knows his education won’t be the same. Some classes will be online, others in-person, as universities improvise to rebuild academic life from the wreckage. “Still,” he says, “it’s enough to feel the spirit of learning again.”

Against the odds, Gaza’s universities are rising from the ashes, brick by brick, lecture by lecture. Students and educators alike are showing that education there is not just a pursuit, but a form of resistance.

As Mr Al Barsh put it softly:“Our universities have shown the world that even under destruction, Gaza still chooses life and learning.”