- Gaza’s medical students continue learning amid destruction, turning education into an act of survival and resistance as universities lie in ruins.
- Al-Azhar University students improvise studies through online classes, shared notes, and makeshift study spaces despite bombardment and displacement.
- Hands-on training continues in overwhelmed hospitals, as students assist doctors and prepare to rebuild Gaza’s shattered healthcare system.
As Israel’s military offensive continues to devastate Gaza’s infrastructure, education in the besieged territory has taken on a deeper meaning, becoming both an act of survival and a form of resistance. With nearly all universities damaged or destroyed, students have been forced to reimagine how learning can continue amid bombardment, displacement, and loss. Among them are medical students at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City, who are determined not to let war erase their futures.
Al-Azhar University, once a vital academic hub, has suffered extensive destruction, with classrooms, laboratories, and libraries reduced to rubble. Yet, for medical students, abandoning their studies is not an option. Many of them say that continuing their education is a moral responsibility, not only to themselves but also to a population in desperate need of healthcare. “If we stop learning now, Gaza will lose its future doctors”, one student said, speaking from a makeshift study space surrounded by damaged buildings.
With formal facilities unusable, students have turned to improvised solutions. Online lectures, when internet access allows, are followed from overcrowded shelters or temporary homes. Study groups gather in partially damaged buildings, tents, or even open spaces, using shared notes and mobile phones to replace textbooks and lab equipment. “We study whenever there is electricity and whenever the shelling pauses”, another student explained, adding that each completed lesson feels like a small victory against despair.
Faculty members, many of whom have been displaced themselves, continue to support students remotely. A lecturer at Al-Azhar University said that maintaining academic continuity is essential for preserving hope. “Education is one of the few tools left to us to resist collapse as a society”, the lecturer noted, explaining that even limited instruction helps students retain structure and purpose during chaos.
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Medical students also continue practical learning in hospitals overwhelmed by casualties. Under extreme conditions, they assist doctors and nurses, gaining firsthand experience in emergency medicine. While the circumstances are traumatic, students say the experience reinforces their commitment to serving their community. “Every injured child reminds me why I chose medicine”, one student said quietly.
The destruction of Gaza’s higher education system has drawn international concern, with education advocates warning of long-term consequences for an entire generation. Still, students insist that learning must continue. “They can destroy buildings, but they cannot destroy our will”, a student said, holding worn lecture notes salvaged from a bombed campus.
As the war grinds on, Gaza’s medical students are not only studying for exams; they are preparing to rebuild a shattered healthcare system. In choosing education amid ruins, they are asserting their right to a future and refusing to allow occupation and war to define the limits of their lives.
