A new school funded by South African Muslims has opened in Gaza City, giving hundreds of Palestinian children an opportunity to return to structured learning amid the widespread destruction of Gaza’s education system.
The Al-Falaah College Gaza School officially opened on 13 June 2026 following an initiative funded by former students of Al-Falaah College in Durban through its alumni network and implemented on the ground in partnership with the Al-Imdaad Foundation.
The project comes amid a severe education crisis in Gaza, where schools have been extensively damaged or destroyed and hundreds of thousands of children have endured prolonged disruption to their schooling.
UNICEF reported in January that more than 90% of schools in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, while around 60% of school-aged children had no access to in-person learning.
Against this backdrop, the Al-Falaah initiative sought to create a dedicated space where children could return to the classroom and regain some measure of structure and routine.
According to material released about the project, the initiative began after families in Gaza communicated a simple but urgent request to humanitarian workers: “We need a school.”
Former students of Al-Falaah College responded by directing their fundraising towards establishing an educational facility, while the Al-Imdaad Foundation provided the humanitarian infrastructure and on-the-ground capacity to implement the project.
The partnership created a direct link between a Muslim educational community in Durban and Palestinian children whose schooling has been severely disrupted by the war in Gaza.
Establishing educational facilities in Gaza remains extremely challenging, with widespread destruction, displacement, restrictions on movement and access to materials, and continuing insecurity complicating efforts to restore basic services.
Despite these conditions, the school is intended to provide children with more than academic instruction.
According to Al-Falaah, learners receive formal education alongside Islamic studies, recreational activities and psychosocial support.
The provision of psychosocial support is particularly significant for children who have endured prolonged exposure to war, displacement, loss and repeated disruption to their education.
UNICEF has similarly emphasised the importance of safe learning environments that combine education with psychosocial support, recreation and opportunities for children to regain a sense of routine.
The school’s opening was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with footage and images released by Al-Falaah showing children and members of the local community taking part.
For children whose education has been repeatedly interrupted, however, the significance extends beyond the opening of another building.
A functioning school provides a place to learn, interact with teachers and classmates, participate in activities and rebuild a daily routine in circumstances where normal childhood life has been profoundly disrupted.
The opening of the Al-Falaah College Gaza School comes as the wider education crisis facing Palestinian children remains immense.
UNICEF has warned that prolonged disruption to schooling could have lasting consequences for an entire generation, making the restoration of education an important part of the humanitarian response.
Across Gaza, emergency learning initiatives have sought to create spaces where children can continue their education despite the destruction of conventional school infrastructure.
The Al-Falaah project forms part of that effort, connecting South African Muslim community fundraising directly with an educational facility serving Palestinian children on the ground.
It also demonstrates how humanitarian initiatives can move beyond immediate relief such as food, water and shelter towards restoring essential services communities need to rebuild their lives.
For the children walking through the doors of the new school, however, its significance is immediate.
After months of disruption to education and daily life, they once again have a dedicated place to study, play, interact with their peers and experience some measure of routine.
The project began with a simple request from Gaza: “We need a school.”
Thousands of kilometres away, former students in Durban responded.
In a territory where classrooms have been destroyed and the education of an entire generation severely disrupted, that response has now taken physical form: a school where Palestinian children can learn again.
