Empowering Gaza’s Students to Access International Education Amid War, Displacement, and Structural Barriers through the Gaza40+ Initiative.
At the heart of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli war machine has erased the contours of life through two continuous years of systematic genocide, the humanitarian landscape stands before a catastrophe unseen in modern history. This war has not been limited to destroying stone and soil. It has struck at the core of the foundations necessary for human survival, leaving more than 240,000 people killed or injured and devastating nearly 90% of the territory’s infrastructure.
Amid this vast field of rubble, the losses within the education sector emerge as one of the most dangerous crises threatening the future of Palestinian generations. This is not simply the destruction of concrete buildings. It is a clear attempt to strip society of knowledge and undermine its functional and intellectual balance for years to come. The scale of the crime committed against the educational journey demands serious reflection, not only to document the damage, but to search for the openings of light through which Palestinian youth are trying to move toward a better tomorrow.
The reach of genocide has affected 98% of Gaza’s schools. Universities and higher education institutions, once beacons of learning and excellence, have not been spared. Twenty two university campuses have been completely destroyed, while fourteen have suffered partial damage out of a total of thirty eight. This sweeping destruction has deprived more than 745,000 students of continuing their education, leaving them suddenly stranded outside the academic sphere. Even more devastating is the human toll. The education sector has lost more than 20,000 students, while over 31,000 others have been injured or left with varying disabilities. The academic community has also lost more than a thousand educators, representing some of the finest Palestinian minds.
In the face of these staggering figures, supporting higher education in Gaza has become an urgent existential necessity that cannot be postponed. It is a determined effort to compensate for the enormous deficit left by the war and to provide real opportunities that allow students to reclaim their stolen dreams.
Before this genocide, Gaza’s education sector stood as a model of resilience and achievement. Despite decades of occupation and suffocating blockade, Palestinians maintained one of the highest literacy rates in the world, reaching 97%. Enrollment in secondary education exceeded 90%, reflecting an instinctive passion for learning and a deep belief that knowledge is the strongest weapon against injustice.
For Palestinians in Gaza, education has never been merely a path to an academic certificate or an official document that opens doors to employment. It has always been, and remains, a source of optimism and courage and a form of peaceful resistance expressing national rights. It is the primary means for families to escape poverty and the window through which young people present themselves to the world, declaring that they are here and deserve a dignified life worthy of their sacrifices.
Yet two years of devastation have been enough to erode the concept of educational justice that once characterized Palestinian society. In the past, economic background or social class was not a decisive barrier to continuing education. Today, that gap has widened painfully, leaving the poor behind. Many families can no longer afford to educate all their children, forcing them into heartbreaking decisions about who continues studying and who must work to support younger siblings, or granting opportunity only to the highest achieving student while denying the rest.
In other tragic situations, families that have lost their primary provider during the genocide are compelled to send school age children into the labor market simply to secure basic necessities and survive. Education has shifted from a near guaranteed right for every Palestinian into a privilege available only to a few, a painful reality visible in every corner of displacement.
These catastrophic transformations threaten not only individuals but the future structure and functional composition of society as a whole. A generation deprived of education means a fragile labor market lacking skilled professionals and a severe shortage of medical, engineering, and technical expertise essential for reconstruction. When daily survival becomes the overriding concern, the capacity to plan for the future diminishes. Thousands of young people are pushed outside the knowledge system, deepening cycles of poverty and marginalization and creating a generational gap that cannot easily be repaired.
This reality cannot be viewed as a temporary crisis. It is a deep wound in the body of Palestinian identity that demands urgent and innovative interventions to rebuild the educational pathway and protect future generations from being lost to enforced illiteracy.
From within this suffering, and in an effort to light a candle in this darkness, the Gaza40+ initiative was born. It is a youth driven effort led by volunteers in the United Kingdom, primarily aimed at helping Palestinian students from Gaza continue their education abroad. The initiative began by focusing on scholarship recipients who were unable to travel because of the war, and it has already succeeded in assisting many of them with complex legal procedures and travel arrangements in pursuit of learning.
The importance of this initiative lies not only in the number of students it has helped academically survive, but in the profound message it carries. It affirms that education remains the highest priority and that investing in minds is the most sustainable path to rebuilding society and repairing what war has shattered.
Volunteers behind the initiative undertake extensive efforts, including ongoing communication with British university administrations and relevant government bodies to facilitate stalled student procedures. As the initiative’s success has become visible, student demand has grown and needs have diversified. This has prompted an expansion of its work to include assistance with university applications, navigating institutional platforms, and coordinating with supporters to secure application fee waivers.
The initiative has also taken on the most difficult task of searching for fully funded scholarships, acting as a strategic bridge between the devastation in Gaza and opportunities for excellence abroad. It gives students a genuine sense that they are not abandoned to face systematic attempts at intellectual erasure alone.
Recognising that the scale of the catastrophe requires international solidarity, Gaza40+ has broadened its partnerships and collaborated with similar initiatives to organize efforts and widen support channels. It has built active cooperation with groups such as Phoenix Space and Olive You. This collaboration aims to deliver meaningful solutions and a new model of assistance that sustains educational continuity despite impossible surrounding conditions.
They also have expanded to include support for applying to and understanding other countries’ application and evacuation policies, which include Ireland, Italy, France, Turkey, and other countries that have had some success with evacuation Gazan students and families.
Evacuations, however, remain an incredibly complex and perilous process. Many students face enormous obstacles just to secure a place in a university abroad, compounded by financial and systemic barriers. Scholarships are scarce, and even when awarded, students often struggle because governments are not always able or willing to evacuate them due to the ongoing occupation. Many are forced to pay application fees, international tuition, housing, insurance, and travel costs out of pocket. Universities frequently fail to provide full advocacy or financial support, leaving students in a constant struggle to access the education they deserve. Gaza40+ places these challenges at the heart of its work, actively fighting against systems that block safe passage, educational opportunity, and personal freedom.
Today, the initiative is more than a travel pathway. It is a form of resistance seeking to preserve the functional structure of Palestinian society by ensuring the emergence of an educated generation capable of leading the postwar phase. It represents a remaining hope to rescue what can still be saved from the dreams of young people buried beneath rubble.
Supporting and cooperating with initiatives like this, whether through volunteering, financial assistance, or academic partnerships, is not secondary charity. It is a collective responsibility for anyone who believes education is a fundamental right and a pillar of justice. Contributing to Gaza40+ means helping preserve individual life stories from interruption and protecting an entire society’s future from intellectual collapse.
They are actively seeking more mentors and volunteers to join their mission. Students urgently need support with application fees, and to address this they have launched a Chuffed campaign to help cover these costs the link is available on their Instagram profile. Additionally, they provide access to the UK government petition advocating for all Gaza students to receive home fee status, living expenses, and eligibility for other student aid programs in the UK. Every contribution, whether through guidance, funding, or advocacy, directly impacts the ability of students to continue their education and safeguard their futures.
In Gaza, where tragedy intersects with a remarkable determination to live, education remains the shared language of hope. Initiatives like this form the sturdy bridge reconnecting a fractured present with the brighter future Palestinians deserve. Institutions, universities, and donors are called upon to rally around this youth driven effort to demonstrate that the will to learn is stronger than machines of destruction and that Gaza’s generation will not be left alone in the struggle for intellectual survival.
