GAZA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- On a summer morning in Gaza City, 12-year-old Palestinian girl Sarah al-Hasani carefully opened her notebook and wrote her first words at a wooden desk. Around her, her classmates settled into rows of recycled wooden desks, their voices filling a classroom for the first time in months.
It was al-Hasani's first day back in a proper classroom since the conflict in Gaza erupted in October 2023.
The conflict forced schools across Gaza to shut down. Many school buildings were destroyed or damaged, while others were converted into shelters for displaced families. In response, temporary learning centers were established inside tents, often without classrooms, desks or basic teaching materials.
Now al-Hasani is among about 850 students at the newly-opened Friends of Palestine School, the first school in Gaza built with repurposed wooden classrooms and recycled wooden desks to recreate a more formal learning environment for children whose education has been disrupted.
"Sitting at this desk made me feel like I was back in the school I loved before the war," al-Hasani told Xinhua.
"For the past months, we studied in tents, but having a real classroom with a blackboard and desks makes me feel like I'm living a normal life again," she said.
She said studying in a classroom allows students to concentrate better and participate more actively in lessons.
"I hope all schools can reopen so children can study in classrooms again," she said. "School is not only a place to learn. It's where we meet our friends and feel safe."
Nearby, 12-year-old Sila al-Haddad arranged her books neatly on a wooden desk before class.
"Studying inside tents was difficult," al-Haddad said. "We sat on the ground, and the heat and wind often made it hard to follow the lessons. There wasn't enough space or enough chairs to help us concentrate."
"Today we can see the blackboard clearly and sit comfortably, which helps us understand the lessons better," she said. "It feels like school has returned to us, even if it looks different."
Established by the non-governmental Wefaq Humanitarian Foundation with private donations, the school was built with wooden structures and recycled desks amid severe shortages of construction materials needed to rebuild conventional schools. It operates on a three-shift system to accommodate as many children as possible.
Mustafa al-Malahi, media director of the foundation, said the project was designed to restore a learning environment that more closely resembles formal schools after months of tent-based education.
Construction took about two months, longer than planned because suitable timber was difficult to obtain and repeated power outages disrupted manufacturing and construction, he said.
Despite its simple design, the school is equipped with desks, whiteboards and roofs that provide protection from the summer heat, creating a more suitable learning environment than temporary tent classrooms.
"Whiteboard markers have become difficult to find, and when they are available, a single marker can cost around 10 U.S. dollars," al-Malahi said. The foundation hopes to build another similar school in Gaza City's al-Nasr neighborhood if funding becomes available.
Arabic teacher Narmin Khamis Mohammed described the school's opening as an important step toward restoring a classroom environment.
"Before the war, students in Gaza were known for their love of learning and academic achievement," she said. "Although education continued in tents, having real classrooms gives children a greater sense of stability and encourages them to learn."
She said students showed enthusiasm from the first day, eager to choose their seats, open their notebooks and participate in class.
"Providing a suitable learning environment, even with limited resources, can help reduce the psychological and social impact of the conflict on children while maintaining their connection to education until damaged schools are rebuilt," she said.
According to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza, all schools in the enclave have been either completely or partially damaged since the conflict began, leaving more than 620,000 students without regular education. More than 20,000 students have been killed during the conflict.
As the lesson got underway, children bent over their notebooks while their voices echoed through the wooden classrooms. For the students inside, it was a familiar sound that had been absent for too long. For the hundreds of thousands of children across Gaza who remain out of school, Friends of Palestine School offers a glimpse of the classroom life they are still waiting to regain. ■
