GAZA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Instead of attending school, Kinan Mahdi, a Palestinian student from Gaza City, spent his days waiting in long queues to obtain food aid for his eight-member family.
Kinan receives the food aid from a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has been turned into a shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
"At this time last year, I joined my classmates in a queue to sing the national anthem and do some exercises before heading to our classrooms," the 11-year-old student recalled.
"I was so excited to move from the primary to the prep level at school and start preparing for high school," he said.
Kinan dreamed of becoming a doctor someday, but his aspirations are in jeopardy as he has lost a school year due to the ongoing conflict between Hamas, the Islamist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007, and the Israeli army.
The devastation caused by Israeli attacks on the besieged coastal enclave has left him worried about potentially losing another school year.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has launched large-scale military operations in Gaza following a Hamas attack on southern Israel, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. As of Tuesday, Gaza's health authorities report over 41,000 Palestinian deaths in the 11-month conflict.
"My life was turned upside down. I became a displaced child, with little hope of surviving the war. Even if we survive, we will not be able to return to a normal life quickly since we have lost our house," said Kinan.
UNICEF reported in a statement on Monday that while children across several Middle Eastern countries are preparing for their first year of school, at least 45,000 six-year-olds in the Gaza Strip are being denied this right.
The first graders join 625,000 children in Gaza who have already missed an entire school year. With the conflict still raging, they risk missing a second year of education, the UN body added.
Mariam Nijim, a Palestinian student from the southern city of Rafah, faces a similarly dire situation.
The 14-year-old girl with brown hair is the only survivor of her nine-member family, who were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit their home three months ago.
"On days like these, my mother used to style my hair and prepare sandwiches for school. I was a happy student. But everything has finished. My mother, father, and siblings were killed and I stayed alone," she lamented.
Marah Al Rassi, a resident of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, had dreamed of seeing her six-year-old daughter, Salma, start first grade like other children.
"I had dreamed of my daughter entering kindergarten and school, but unfortunately she lost the right to be enrolled … I've lost the dream of dressing my daughter in her school uniform and taking her to class like other mothers did."
To escape the relentless Israeli attacks, Marah and her daughter are forced to move from one place to another.
"We are living through the worst days of our lives and have no idea what our fate will be," she complained.
In an effort to save the school year lost to the war, the Palestinian Education Ministry announced on Monday the launch of virtual schools for Gazan students.
In the virtual schools, the students will study e-lessons through online platforms, ministry spokesperson Sadiq al-Khadour told Xinhua.
He said that "the virtual schools deliver core educational content across all the subjects … and a plan is in place to merge two academic years to help Gazan students catch up."