“What we need now are notebooks, books, and pens. We want to get our lives back”, said one young Palestinian girl, Sham Al-Abd.

She now attends the Deir al-Balah Joint Elementary School run by the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA).

Despite the old furniture and the few drawings that brighten the classroom walls at a school visited by our UN News correspondent, the children’s excitement to return there after months of seeking shelter from the bombs, remains undiminished.

One of Sham’s classmates, Asil Al-Loh, spoke enthusiastically about how she felt: “We want to learn and play, and study all subjects as we did before. Now we only study Arabic, English and mathematics.”

Attempt to restore normalcy

Following the ceasefire in Gaza, UNRWA is working to restore a sense of normalcy in schools that had previously been used as shelters.

Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, announced that the agency is expanding its “Return to Learning” programme in Gaza, offering both in-person and online education.

At the Deir al-Balah Joint Elementary School, signs of transformation from shelter to school, are still evident. Our correspondent saw families cooking meals in the corridors, while tents still occupy the schoolyard.

When young student Shahd al-Bahisi returned to Deir al-Balah, she said she found the area “destroyed,” and that “many displaced people were still there.”

Despite this, Shahd seems determined to resume her studies.

Some classrooms remain without enough chairs, their floors are covered with tarpaulins and blankets. Yet the excitement and determination are shining through.

A chance at ‘life, dignity and education’

“To date, more than 62,000 students have benefited from temporary learning services through these basic educational activities since their launch on 1 August 2024”, according to Inas Hamdam, UNRWA’s spokesperson.

Deir al-Balah School is one of those converted into a shelter but UNRWA continues to open additional temporary learning spaces, said Ms. Hamdam.

She explained that this is being done in parallel with the provision of distance learning services to approximately 300,000 students in Gaza, adding that: “8,000 teachers are contributing to the provision of these services to the children of Gaza who have suffered the ravages of war”.

She emphasised that children, wherever they may be, “deserve a chance at life, dignity and education”.

Despite the war’s devastation, voices and laughter ring out once again in the hallways of Deir-al-Balah’s school.