Doaa Musallem’s high school grades were so good that she received a call from the Palestinian Minister of Education calling her a hero.
But for the 18-year-old, the celebration was bittersweet.
Like some 56,000 other students in Gaza’s Class of 2025, her education has been almost completely disrupted over the past two years by Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed some 19,000 school-age children, orphaned thousands of others, and nearly wiped out the enclave’s formal education system.
“Our happiness is incomplete because our supporter and breadwinner is not here,” she told CNN, referring to her father, who was absent from the celebration.
Doaa’s father, Bassam Musallam, was struck by an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza in November 2023 that hit his neighbor’s house, killing his friend and seriously injuring him from shrapnel, his family told CNN.
Ms Musallam fled to Egypt for treatment in April 2024 and has remained there ever since, missing many milestones in her daughter’s life, including the test results that went viral online.
When she sent her father a congratulatory photo of her standing proudly next to her brother in his graduation gown and cap in front of a bright yellow balloon sign that read “Congratulations,” she felt like the entire enclave was celebrating with her.
“You are a hero,” Palestinian Education Minister Amjad Barham told Doaa, who called to congratulate him on graduating from high school and receiving the highest score (99.7%) among Gazan students.
Doa’a’s jubilant scenes were emulated across Gaza on Thursday, a rare bright moment in the past two years. When the Ministry of Education announced the results of tens of thousands of high school students like Doaa, there was an uproar as Palestinians set off fireworks and got into singing and dancing.
Mahmoud Elian, a recent graduate who fled the southern city of Rafah and fled to central Gaza, stood smiling in a crowded dessert shop in his hometown.
“I am happy beyond words,” he told Palestinian state television. “I’m here to buy desserts and give them out to people, because after two years of war and displacement, it’s been a long time since people saw desserts.”
For others, graduation day is a reminder of that suffering.
Doha Nazmi Abu Dalal, a student evacuated to Deir El Bala in central Gaza, achieved a near-perfect GPA. However, she was killed less than a month before her efforts were rewarded. Hospital authorities said Abu Dalal and 17 of his family members were killed in an Israeli attack on October 29, weeks after the ceasefire.
According to UNICEF, Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza since October 7, 2023 have destroyed Gaza’s education system and brought it to the brink of collapse, leading UN experts to accuse it of academic decline, the systematic destruction of a country’s education.
Israel has repeatedly said Hamas uses schools and universities as part of its infrastructure to store weapons or as command centers. He did not directly address the accusations in the school murder case.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) previously told CNN that while Hamas is “cynically exploiting civilian infrastructure for terrorist purposes,” it strives to minimize harm to civilians.
According to UNICEF, Israeli attacks have damaged or destroyed more than 97% of schools in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds of thousands of children with limited access to in-person learning.
At least 18,591 school-age students were killed and 27,216 injured during the war, according to statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Education. Additionally, approximately 792 education staff were killed and 3,251 were injured.
Al-Hassan Ali Radwan is one of the Palestinian students who experienced the loss of a loved one when his cousin and study companion were killed during the war. Like his classmates, Al Hassan has had to navigate the challenges of online education during a devastating humanitarian crisis.
“The lack of internet connectivity, the lack of electricity and water, the lack of displacement and, most importantly, the lack of food has been devastating,” al-Hassan told Palestinian state news agency WAFA on Thursday at the IDP shelter in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, where he had gathered with friends to celebrate his graduation.
In central Gaza, another graduate, Dima, who gave only her first name to state media, was celebrating with her family after overcoming academic trauma.
She said she was slightly injured in an Israeli attack during her first private math class at a sports club since the war began.
“I stopped studying for a while because I was scared,” she said. “But in the end, I had to keep going. You only get to be a high school student once in a lifetime.”
The Ministry of Education says 56,000 new graduates in Gaza are ready for university. However, there are very few campuses that you can attend.
According to the ministry, 63 university buildings have been completely destroyed in the past two years due to Israeli attacks.
And resources are scarce. Despite the implementation of a ceasefire on October 10, UNICEF said it is “impossible” to bring educational supplies such as stationery, backpacks and other resources into the enclave as they are not considered “life-saving humanitarian aid”.
Still, some students and parents expressed joy at Thursday’s graduation ceremony and are hopeful that Gaza’s schools and universities will be rebuilt soon.
According to a recent UNICEF statement, nearly 92% of all educational facilities will require complete reconstruction or major renovation to become functional again.
Dima’s father said: “Despite the aches and pains in Gaza, we want to be happy and overcome the hurt.” “Students need to return to the classroom as soon as possible.”
On the other hand, some people are looking for systems to help them win university scholarships or study abroad, rather than returning to study online.
“This is not life. They (Israel) destroyed our schools and universities,” recent graduate Mohamed Bilal Abu Faraj told Palestinian state media Thursday after handing out desserts at a shelter.
“Open the borders,” he added, nodding to the continued siege of Gaza.
Doaa’s interest in pursuing higher education in nursing was sparked by her father’s injury.
She too wants to continue her education abroad and is eager to reunite with her father there.
CNN’s Abia Salman contributed reporting.
