As reported by The New York Times, a network of schools in southern Gaza has begun implementing a peace building curriculum for thousands of children displaced by years of conflict and recent fighting. The initiative is led by Dr. Abdallah Hasan, a Palestinian-American physician who has not returned to Gaza since early 2024 but oversees the project remotely through local partners and online coordination.
According to The New York Times, around 9,000 students in grades one through nine are enrolled across five campuses in southern Gaza. The children attend in three-hour shifts, receiving warm meals, medical care and psychological support alongside regular lessons shaped around the new peace building curriculum.
As reported by The New York Times, the schools use a modified version of the Palestinian Authority’s official curriculum that is taught in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. The revisions are designed to remove material that glorifies violence or vilifies Jews, while adding structured lessons on coexistence, empathy and nonviolent conflict resolution.
According to The New York Times, Dr. Hasan has worked with humanitarian organizations to set up the schools, recruit Palestinian teachers via messaging apps and raise funds, much of it from Jewish donors in the United States and Israel. He has described the project as an attempt to give Gaza’s children an alternative to narratives of hatred, at a time when many have lost homes, relatives and access to regular schooling.
How is the peace building curriculum being implemented?
As reported by The New York Times, the peace building curriculum operates through explicit changes to textbooks and lesson content in subjects such as mathematics, reading and religious studies. A previously used math exercise that compared the number of “martyrs” from Palestinian uprisings was replaced with a problem about attendance at a soccer match in the West Bank.
According to The New York Times, a reading comprehension passage that praised Dalal Mughrabi, who took part in a 1978 attack that killed 38 Israelis including children, has been substituted with a text about Hind al-Husseini, a Palestinian educator known for founding an orphanage and advancing girls’ education. The change is intended to shift the focus from militancy to civic and educational achievement.
As reported by The New York Times, a lesson in Islamic studies that referenced an alleged plot by Jews to kill the Prophet Muhammad has been replaced by a lesson emphasizing the prophet’s respect for Jews. The organizers say the goal is to reduce sectarian hostility and highlight religious teachings that encourage tolerance and respect for others.
According to The New York Times, the schools have also introduced weekly peace building classes that teach values such as respect for diversity, empathy and the “golden rule.” In one described scene from a classroom, a boy drew the Palestinian and Israeli flags next to each other and said he hoped there would be no more wars so that “we can live,” a moment the school staff cited as evidence of how children are engaging with the peace building curriculum.
Context, reactions and concerns?
As reported by The New York Times, the curriculum changes have been made without the formal approval of the Palestinian Authority’s Education Ministry, which is responsible for the official textbooks. Dr. Hasan told the newspaper that this has led to threats of retaliation from the ministry, although the ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
According to The New York Times, some teachers have expressed concern that the peace building curriculum could expose them to political pressure or danger, particularly from Hamas as it seeks to reassert control over parts of Gaza. Some educators have resigned or been dismissed because they felt uneasy about the political sensitivity of the material or feared potential repercussions.
As reported by The New York Times, Dr. Hasan has considered installing cameras in classrooms to ensure that teachers follow the modified curriculum consistently, reflecting tensions between central oversight and teachers’ desire for discretion. Some staff members insist they are still teaching the standard Palestinian curriculum, while acknowledging that certain contentious passages have been removed or altered.
According to The New York Times, social media responses in Gaza have been mixed. Some residents have questioned whether the initiative is too closely aligned with Israeli interests because of its funding sources and explicit efforts to strip out anti-Israeli content, while others, disillusioned with Hamas and ongoing violence, argue that teaching tolerance and nonviolence is preferable to idealizing martyrdom.
Supporting details and local perspectives
As reported by The New York Times, many of the teachers at the Gaza schools were not transferred from existing public institutions but were hired specifically for the project, including first-time teachers and retired principals. One science teacher explained that beyond teaching the structure of a cell, staff are encouraged to convey messages about resilience, coexistence and rebuilding lives out of destruction.
According to The New York Times, that teacher described the schools’ mission as helping children “rise again, like a phoenix” and “reclaim their lives from the rubble,” while also learning to “embrace others” and “socialize” after periods of isolation, bombardment and displacement. The peace building curriculum is presented as part academic, part psychosocial support in an environment shaped by trauma.
As reported by The New York Times, the schools operate on a compressed schedule because of space and security constraints, with multiple groups cycling through the same classrooms over the course of a day. The inclusion of warm meals and access to basic health care reflects the broader humanitarian role the institutions are filling in neighborhoods where many services have collapsed.
According to The New York Times, some families see the schools as rare safe spaces where their children can regain a sense of normal childhood. A mother quoted in the report said the schools were “the best that has happened” for her children, describing the environment as safe and nurturing socially, emotionally and educationally, in contrast to their experience during the height of the conflict.
What are the risks and future developments?
As reported by The New York Times, the schools have already faced security threats. Shortly after the first campus opened in July, Dr. Hasan shared its coordinates with the Israeli military in the hope of avoiding an attack, but staff later received a warning about a possible strike against militants nearby and evacuated; an airstrike then hit a neighboring site, lightly damaging the school and forcing a relocation.
According to The New York Times, the organizers plan to expand the network significantly despite the risks. Dr. Hasan’s sixth school, expected to open east of Khan Younis, is designed to accommodate around 10,000 children and offer some college-level classes, along with features such as a small zoo intended to give children a respite from the destruction around them.
As reported by The New York Times, Dr. Hasan has set a goal of eventually serving up to 250,000 children by the end of the year, which would make the network one of the largest education providers in Gaza outside traditional state structures. Achieving that target would require continued funding, cooperation with local partners and the ability to operate amid shifting military and political conditions.
According to The New York Times, the long-term impact of the peace building curriculum remains uncertain, with questions about whether it can endure political pressure from Palestinian factions, skepticism from some families and the logistical challenges of running schools in a territory under blockade and periodic bombardment. Supporters argue that embedding nonviolence and coexistence in everyday lessons is essential if future generations are to view peace as a practical alternative.
The report indicates that for many Gaza families, the immediate significance of the peace building curriculum lies less in abstract politics than in the creation of a structured, relatively safe space where children can learn, eat and process their experiences. As the network grows, its approach to revising textbooks, emphasizing respect and removing glorification of violence is likely to remain a focal point in wider debates about education, identity and the prospects for long-term stability in Gaza.
