Hundreds Take Azhar General Secondary Examinations in Gaza Amid Ongoing War

Hundreds of students in the Gaza Strip went to take the Azhar General Secondary Examinations in Azhar institutes on Tuesday, described as the first of its kind since the outbreak of the Israeli war in October 2023.

“02:03 01:28 06:47 02:24 04:09 01:12 01:07 03:02 01:30 02:23 24:32 20 Minutes with AFP Published April 25, 2026 at 11:05 AM • Updated April 25, 2026 at 11:06 AM A vote with no illusions, for the first time since the war began”

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About 450 students from the science and humanities streams headed to exam venues in Gaza City for two continuous weeks under the direct and full supervision of the Al-Azhar Al-Sharif leadership in Egypt.

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Dr. Ali Rashid Al-Najjar, Dean of the Azhar Institutes in Palestine, said the exams began in parallel in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and that holding them in person represents a victory for the will to educate.

The Egyptian relief committee working in Gaza provided dedicated buses to transfer examinees from various displacement areas, with the Dean noting that roughly half the students are forcibly displaced from the northern parts of the Strip to its southern parts.

On students’ views, student Rana Alian, displaced from Beit Lahia, said the exam questions were within reach but that the real difficulty lies in the surrounding living conditions, adding that students have to study amid the sounds of shelling and gunfire.

The exams were conducted with coordination with Cairo that included sending the exam questions through secure electronic channels, with the answer booklets re-sent to the Al-Azhar leadership's headquarters in the Egyptian capital for marking and auditing.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, the dean of Azhar Institutes in Palestine, Dr. Ali Rashid al-Najjar, said the institutes faced major difficulties, notably rehabilitating premises damaged during the war and the crisis of transporting students from their places of displacement.

Al-Jazeera Net

He also described the Egyptian relief committee’s role in helping provide buses to transport students, especially since about half of those taking the exams are displaced persons uprooted from the north of the sector to its south.

Student Hussam al-Din Salah expressed gratitude to Al-Azhar for facilitating the exams, saying they give them hope of continuing their university journey in the future.

Rana Aliyan told organizers that the exam was easy, while she said the real difficulty lies in daily life details in Gaza, including living with the sounds of shelling and gunfire.

The resumption of in-person exams comes as the Israeli occupation army continues demolition and destruction of residential buildings and public facilities in various parts of the sector, with the sources describing daily violations that increase civilians’ suffering and hinder efforts to restore normal life.

The Al-Jazeera Net account says the Israeli war on Gaza began with American support on 8 October 2023 and has left about 73,000 martyrs and around 173,000 wounded, while also describing the destruction of 90% of the infrastructure.

Despite talk of ceasefire agreements, the sources say Israel continues its operations and tightens the entry of humanitarian aid amid daily bombardment and ongoing violations.

In the same framing, the Gaza Strip’s educational step is presented as an exceptional event showing resilience, with the Al-Azhar institutes holding the exams in person after long periods of interruption and irregular schooling.

Student Rana Aliyan’s account ties the exams to survival under bombardment, saying, "We live catastrophic conditions and sleep and wake to the sounds of shelling and gunfire, but we have overcome these conditions and proceeded to the exams."