Utolsó frissítés: 2026.09.09. — Szerző: Anti-Propaganda News Blog
Raghad Ashour, determined to study despite war and displacement, was killed before she could realize her dream of university.
Gaza, Gaza Strip – A few days before his high school exams were due to begin, 17-year-old Raghad Ashour rejected a proposal from a girl; he decided to finish his studies first.
On Monday morning, the Palestinian teenager left his family's makeshift tent in central Gaza City and headed for a nearby training center. He never arrived.
Just a few meters from the center, the teenager was killed by an Israeli drone strike. At least five others were wounded in a double strike (where the first explosion is followed by a second one to target both rescue workers and civilians) that hit the Rimal neighborhood.
„Despite everything he went through, he was determined to attend his classes,” his uncle Jamil Ashour told Middle East Eye as he greeted mourners. „He found a center near the camp and went there every morning. He studied hard and arrived early to make sure he had a desk and everything was ready for class. But he never made it to the center.”
Interrupted education
For the third consecutive year, more than 658,000 school-age children in Gaza have been deprived of face-to-face education, with more than 97 percent of schools damaged or destroyed in Israeli attacks. The remaining schools are now being used as shelters for tens of thousands who have lost their homes in the bombing since October 2023.
In response to the ongoing disruptions, the Palestinian Ministry of Education has implemented limited forms of distance learning, especially for graduating high school students. Lessons, materials, and guidance have been delivered through digital platforms, messaging apps, and, where possible, recorded or live broadcasts.
However, online education is out of reach for many students. With much of Gaza's electrical and telecommunications infrastructure destroyed, homes and refugee camps have little or no electricity or internet connectivity.
„He’s just a kid. What does he have to do with all this?” asked Jamil Ashour, Raghad’s uncle.
Lacking alternatives, students often rely on cafes and other community spaces that provide solar or fuel-powered generators to download course materials, charge phones, or take online exams.
„Sometimes he faced difficulties: the lack of electricity, not being able to charge his phone when he got back to the tent, or when his phone broke,” Ashour said. „But he never let these obstacles stop him. He grew up half-orphaned, and he realized that nothing could help him like a degree that would help him find a good job.”
A Palesztin Oktatási Minisztérium adatai szerint 2023 októbere óta legalább 19 100 palesztin iskolást és 1379 egyetemistát öltek meg az izraeli katonai támadásokban. További 28 419 iskolás és 3017 egyetemista sebesült meg.
„"The flower of the house"”
Raghad was the only daughter in her family. Her father was killed in an Israeli attack when she was about three years old, leaving her mother to raise her and her four siblings alone.
„I visited them in their tent yesterday and drank tea that she made with her own hands,” Ashour said. „She told me stories and we laughed together. She was the flower of the house. Her siblings adored her, and her mother always said she was more than a girl: she was her friend and companion in the darkest days.”
Shortly after Raghad's death, her mother fainted and was rushed to the hospital. "Her heart just couldn't take it; she fainted, despite everyone's efforts to comfort her," Ashour said, adding that doctors said she would have to stay in the hospital until Tuesday.
Raghad is one of at least 1,011 Palestinians who have been killed in Israeli military attacks since the ceasefire agreement of October 11, 2025. More than 3,000 have been injured.
„Every time they kill and injure dozens of people, claiming they only wanted to target one person,” Ashour continued. „This is just a child. What does he have to do with all this? He insisted on continuing his education, despite being deprived of his father, his home, and any chance of a normal childhood.”
Originally from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Raghad and her family have been forced to flee several times since October 7, 2023, eventually ending up in a refugee camp in Gaza City after their home was bombed.
When someone proposed to her, her mother was overjoyed that her daughter had reached the age where she could become a bride. „She was over the moon. She never thought she would be able to raise and educate me this far. She wanted to see me as a bride,” the uncle continued. „But Raghad completely rejected the idea. She didn’t want to get married, so she called me to come over and talk to her mother. To finish her studies and go to university.”
„Our only consolation is that he was killed chasing his dream.”
Source: HERE
