{
  "id": 12025131,
  "title": "In Egypt, displaced Gazan teacher gives uprooted children a school of their own",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/in-egypt-displaced-gazan-teacher-gives-uprooted-children-a-school-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-04T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/10/05/in-egypt-displaced-gazan-teacher-gives-uprooted-children-a-school-of-their-own/237636"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "EL- ARISH, October 5 — Palestinian educator Hadeel Zourob watches as a group of displaced Palestinian children enter the sole Palestinian school in North Sinai, a region where they found refuge after being forced from their homes by the Israel-Hamas conflict. The students, numbering nearly 400 between the ages of six and 18, are among the hundreds of Palestinian youngsters who fled Gaza following the Hamas attack in October 2023 and now reside in El-Arish, a coastal city 44 kilometers from the border. Zourob, herself a displaced Gazan teacher, established the educational center to provide a place of learning for these uprooted children who had no access to schools or education. The initiative has grown from a small group in a rented building to a free school serving the majority of displaced Palestinian children in the area. Zourob's school, the only one of its kind in North Sinai, operates in a region marked by years of security operations against Islamist militants following Egypt's 2011 uprising, leaving it economically disadvantaged. Inside the school, students, clad in keffiyeh scarves and traditional attire, gather in the courtyard, waving flags and reciting morning assemblies before heading to their classrooms. In the school's interior, teachers distribute textbooks and pens based on the Palestinian curriculum, while children work on exercises and engage in creative activities. Despite the challenging circumstances, the school provides a sense of normalcy and a platform for children to recover from the trauma of war and displacement. The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, estimates that over 14,000 Palestinian school-age children have been displaced to Egypt since the war started. Many families struggle with access to online education due to high costs and limited resources, and Human Rights Watch highlights the barriers refugees and asylum-seekers face in accessing education in Egypt, such as residency requirements and limited access to free public schooling. In Gaza, the education system has suffered massive damage, with only around 2% of schools remaining functional, leaving an estimated 98% of the territory's school-age population without regular classroom learning for over two academic years. This has led to concerns of a \"lost generation.\" Zourob's school not only focuses on academics but also aims to help children heal psychologically and maintain a sense of belonging, preparing them for potential return to Gaza.",
  "summary": "EL- ARISH, Oct 5 — Palestinian teacher Hadeel Zourob watches dozens of displaced Gazan children file into the...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}