DaysofPal- Nine-year-old Ritaj Raihan was preparing for a lesson when her life was cut short inside a makeshift classroom in the northern Gaza Strip. She was holding her notebook and pen, ready to learn, when gunfire struck the tent where she sat.
Ritaj was not in a combat zone. She was attending class in a temporary learning space set up on the ruins of a destroyed school. The structure, once known as Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah School, had been reduced to rubble, with tents replacing classrooms for displaced students.
During school hours, the sound of gunfire rang out, followed immediately by screams from inside the tents. Mohammed al-Attar, who oversees the site, said staff rushed to investigate and found Ritaj lying on the ground inside the classroom, critically injured. She was taken to a nearby medical facility, but later she succumbed to her wounds.
School officials said the area had been classified as a “green zone,” located about three kilometers from zones considered high-risk near the border. The incident has raised concerns about the safety of children even in locations regarded as relatively secure.
The killing of the child Ritaj by the Israeli occupation forces is part of a series of incidents targeting children in the Gaza Strip, amidst the ongoing war. Educational institutions, even temporary ones, are no longer safe from attack.
Her father expressed shock and grief, saying his daughter carried nothing but school supplies. He questioned how any justification could be given for the killing of a child inside a classroom, calling it a grave violation of international norms.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education condemned the incident, describing it as a horrific crime and holding Israel fully responsible. The ministry called for urgent international action to stop violations against civilians, especially children, and demanded independent investigations to ensure accountability.
Data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicates that more than 21,000 Palestinian children have been killed and tens of thousands injured during the war in Gaza, underscoring the heavy toll on the youngest members of society.
Ritaj’s story reflects a wider reality in Gaza, where childhood has been deeply affected by violence. For many families, even the path to school and the classroom itself no longer offer safety, turning places of learning into zones of risk rather than refuge.
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