Isabel Portillo
Screening Coordinator at Osakidetza -Basque Health Service, researcher in the Cancer Biomarkers group at the Biobizkaia Health Research Institute, and secretary of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Epidemiology Society
I have read the full report and the position statement. Overall, it is a very enlightening article on the situation in Gaza and East Jerusalem regarding education since 7 October 2023 among the Palestinian population, mainly children and education professionals. The sources and methodology are of high quality (qualitative and quantitative study with official sources from the UN, OCHA, UNRWA, UNICEF, Palestinian authorities, and relevant NGOs working in the field).
It is a continuation of periodic reports from these organisations and high-impact articles in which these authors have also participated.
It should alert both governments and institutions to the need to resolve this situation in the medium and long term, which undoubtedly involves solving urgent problems (hunger, access to drinking water, gender violence, deaths, disability, mental health, infrastructure, materials, salaries and living conditions for professionals).
This is described in the methodology and conclusions, given that it is difficult to conduct studies in a changing situation, with displacement, difficulty in collecting data and the need to make projections and incorporate models that allow the objective of the article to be adjusted, which is the need for international involvement, both in the cessation of hostilities, aid, reconstruction, support in education, and recovery of infrastructure, materials, and physical and mental support for both students and teachers. It is difficult to assess the impact in conditions where education is not a priority for donors, despite being a right enshrined in 1989.