High school final exam season is stressful. In Gaza, it’s nearly impossible
Students at a makeshift university in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, 30 March 2026
Ruwaida Amer reports in +972 on 29 June 2026:
Every day, Khaled Radi sits inside his family’s tent in southern Gaza, trying to prepare for the most important exams of his life. The sweltering heat, constant noise, unreliable internet, and threat of nearby bombardment make concentration a losing battle. Yet the 18-year-old, who dreams of studying medicine abroad, sees little alternative.
“I struggle daily just to pass these exams,” he told +972 Magazine. “A tent is not a suitable place to study. We go to cafes looking for internet access, constantly worried that there could be a bombing at any moment. But taking the exams is better than not taking them at all and wasting years of our lives for nothing.”
Radi is one of over 37,000 high school students in Gaza currently sitting their final exams, known in Arabic as Tawjihi. For generations, these exams have represented a milestone in the lives of young Palestinians, with students spending months preparing in schools and tutoring centers before applying to universities. But for the third year running, the Tawjihi has been severely disrupted by Israel’s genocide.
The exams, taking place between June 22 and July 3, are being administered online due to the destruction of Gaza’s education system. Approximately 2,000 students who have left Gaza are taking the Tawjihi abroad, while those inside the Strip are attempting to study and sit the exams in near-impossible conditions.