The Challenges of Reconstruction and Recovery: The Day After the War and the Future of Youth in Gaza

Introduction

Palestinian youth constitute a vital segment of society, representing approximately 22% of the total population. They live under the weight of chronic political deadlock, a dependent economy, and shrinking civil space. In other words, they are stuck in a constant struggle to redefine their identity and status according to the balance of power and the imposed political reality. In the Gaza Strip in particular, where the burden of the blockade that has been in place since 2007 coincides with modern colonial domination and internal political marginalization, a new generation has grown up knowing nothing but political isolation and division. This generation, which is ambitious and highly educated (unemployment among university graduates reached about 74% before the war), found itself shackled by a stifling economic reality and a political dead end, which eroded its confidence in the political system and its traditional structures. These circumstances produced a strong tendency toward “individual salvation,” with about 37% of young people seriously considering emigration in search of dignity and opportunities lost at home. The recent war, which has been waged on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, was not merely a military escalation, but a systematic military operation aimed at destroying both infrastructure and society, exacerbating existing crises to catastrophic levels. The 2023 war transformed the situation from a chronic crisis to one of total destruction of the urban, educational, and social infrastructure, with hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, the destruction of most universities and schools, and the emergence of the largest generation of people with disabilities in the modern history of Gaza. Thousands of young people have fallen victim, living under the weight of unprecedented collective psychological trauma and educational disruption that threatens to squander human capital. This tragic situation has transformed the issue of youth from a mere developmental challenge to a matter of national, social, and existential security.

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