Gaza’s genocide is often described and portrayed through images of collapsed buildings and rising death tolls. But a deeper loss is silently unfolding amidst the genocide – one that cannot be rebuilt with cement or aid.
Gaza is losing its people – not only through death, but also through forced displacement, unemployment, blocked movement, and the collapse of education, as well as professional life.
Recent figures show how severe this shift has become. Gaza’s unemployment rate has surged to around 80%. Moreover, the overall economy of the Strip has shrunk by nearly 87%, reducing total output to just $362 million. When it comes to the GDP per capita, it has fallen to about $161, wiping out over two decades of development.
Even the people in Gaza are surviving from day to day just to live. At the same time, nearly 70% of Gaza’s population is under the age of 30. So, it is evident that the crisis is not abstract, but all of this is happening to the generation that should be carrying Gaza forward.
From Graduates to Survival
Before the genocide, young Palestinians invested heavily in education. Degrees in engineering, medicine, and business were seen as the only path out of hardship.
However, today, that pathway has completely collapsed. In this context, the story of Mahmoud Shamiya is documented as an example, a university graduate who now spends his days collecting firewood and fetching water in a displacement camp. His words capture the shift clearly: young people have become “aimless, jobless, and hopeless.”
So, this is not a temporary setback, but an act of structural genocide. When an economy collapses and movement is extremely restricted, education loses its purpose. Degrees no longer lead to jobs, skills cannot be used, and ambition is replaced by survival.
Education Has Been Torn Apart
The damage to Gaza’s education system is systemic. According to recent credible assessments:
- Around 658,000 to 660,000 students have lost access to regular education
- Between 87% and 97% of school buildings have been completely obliterated
- Immediate damage to the education sector is estimated at $870 million, rising to $3.8 billion over five years
So, in this extremely volatile situation, education has become impossible. Even emergency education funding has faded out. Out of nearly $198 million required, only about 3.3% is estimated to be secured.
This is a complete deliberate collapse of the education sector of Palestinians by Israel. Students are not simply missing classes — they are losing entire academic years, and in fact, losing most precious years of their lives.
Rafah Is Controlling Who Gets a Future
Yet, for many young Palestinians, the only remaining path forward lies outside Gaza. This is only possible through scholarships, medical placements, or training opportunities abroad.
But that path runs through Rafah, and it is not open. There are hundreds of cases of capable students waiting for the only border to get reopened. For instance, there is a case of Mona Al-Mashharawi. She is a student who secured admission in a university in Algeria, but due to Israel’s restrictions and Rafah closure, she has been trapped for three years. She was meant to leave in November 2023.
There is a complete timeline of the Rafah border:
- Rafah crossing was seized by Israel in May 2024
- It reopened only partially in 2026, allowing a limited number of people on foot, just for health emergency cases
- Movement remains extremely restricted, unpredictable, and insufficient for normal life
Who will be responsible for these innocent dreams and the futures of thousands of young people? Who can bring their most precious years back? It’s part of a broader genocide strategy of Israel to eliminate all the footprints of the Palestinian generations.
The Private Sector Has Been Crushed
Before the genocide, Gaza’s private sector accounted for around 52% of employment. It provided livelihoods through small businesses, services, and local industries.
However, today, that system has completely collapsed. Estimates indicate some harsh realities:
- Up to 90% of economic sectors have been wiped out
- Total economic losses are approaching $70 billion
The Loss of Skilled Professionals
The most critical loss is not visible in rubble, but it is the loss of people who make recovery possible.
It is evident that doctors cannot work without hospitals. Engineers cannot build without infrastructure, and teachers cannot teach without schools.
Reports now confirm the displacement of skilled workers during the genocide, adding another layer to the crisis. Those who left took with them education, experience, and institutional knowledge.
Those who remain often cannot function in their professions, and as a result, there is a vacuum.
Even if somehow rebuilding begins tomorrow, the people needed to lead that process are either gone, displaced, or unable to work psychologically or physically.
A Generation Forced Into Survival Mode
Gaza’s youth should have been its greatest strength, but now, they are the most affected group of the heinous genocide.
With absolutely no jobs, no stable education, restricted movement, and destroyed infrastructure, young people are no longer planning futures. They are managing survival day after day.
The long-term effects are clear:
- Delayed or lost careers
- Reduced economic recovery
- Severe psychological trauma
- Weakened social systems
When an entire generation is pushed into survival mode, the damage does not end with the genocide.
As of now, more than 80% to 90% of Gaza’s population depends entirely on humanitarian aid. The aid is itself extremely restricted, and resultantly making survival extremely challenging.
Even the water supply has been reduced to just around 10% of the overall daily requirement in Gaza.
After all this, one fact is certain: the capacity and the future of Gaza are being eroded in an unprecedented way by Israel and its allies. Unless the world realizes the quest for survival in Gaza, nothing is going to change!
