Marking the first day of the new school year in Gaza, dozens of children line up in the courtyard early on Sunday morning to sing the Palestinian national anthem.
But this year, class did not begin.
Instead, the youngsters then recited the opening verse of the Koran — the Fatiha — to honor the more than 2,100 Palestinians killed, among them hundreds of armed Hamas fighters, in a 48-day Israeli military operation against Gaza.
Palestinians at an UNRWA school after fleeing their homes following an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on July 18, 2014. (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
They then returned to classrooms packed to the brim with families displaced by the conflict, in the UN school being used as a shelter in the north of Gaza City.
Nearly half-a-million Gazan children will not be able to return to class this year, according to the UN children’s fund, UNICEF.
“Classes will remain closed in the conflict-stricken coastal enclave, denying these nearly 500,000 children their right to education,” UNICEF said in a statement Sunday.
At the UN school’s symbolic start to the new academic year, a young girl in a party dress recited a poem. A boy in shorts and glasses sang a popular song by the Palestinian winner of “Arab Idol.”
Proud mothers looked on, some taking pictures and videos with their mobile phones.
A few children appeared to enjoy the spectacle, clapping along, but were visibly disappointed not to be going back to school.
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
