Gaza Families Face Soaring Costs as School Season Begins Amid Crisis

Families across the Gaza Strip face harsh living conditions as the new academic year approaches. Shortages of school supplies and steep price increases have replaced the usual excitement with financial strain for households struggling to afford basic items for their children.

Ahmed Ashraf al-Qreinawi, a father of three, reports that his daughter has almost forgotten what school means. The familiar atmosphere of happiness and anticipation has disappeared, leaving parents unable to provide the backpacks and notebooks that were once simple purchases.

School supplies have become both scarce and prohibitively expensive for many residents. A backpack that previously cost around ten shekels now sells for roughly seventy to one hundred shekels, creating an overwhelming burden for families with multiple children who cannot afford these essentials.

Maysaa Abu Taha describes the increasing difficulty of managing costs as purchasing power declines. She notes that a bag costing thirty shekels before the war now ranges between sixty and seventy shekels, excluding additional expenses for stationery and lunch bags needed for daily attendance.

The burden is particularly heavy for larger families facing these rising prices. Parents try to preserve small moments of excitement for their children, but the lack of resources prevents them from maintaining traditional celebrations for milestones like entering first grade or starting a new term.

Classrooms now operate in tents or makeshift shelters rather than proper buildings with playgrounds. Children miss out on the small details that make starting school special, feeling as if they are going to work instead of attending an educational institution designed for their development and joy.