Young Palestinians evacuated from Gaza by Qatar are finding a way back into education at Al Fakhoora House in Al Thumama, which offers university guidance, skills training and a community in which to rebuild their futures, according to an Education Above All (EAA) Foundation official. The facility serves Palestinian guests in Qatar, including scholarship recipients, offering practical help with education and university pathways as they seek to resume their studies and plan ahead. “Al Fakhoora House at Al Thumama carries forward the original purpose of Al Fakhoora House in Gaza, a space where young people can exchange ideas, learn and develop their potential together,” AlAnood al-Attiyah, director of the Al Fakhoora Programme at the EAA Foundation, told Gulf Times. She said the Al Thumama facility provides more than educational guidance, running workshops, skills-building activities and community initiatives, and giving young Palestinians the chance to connect with peers and partners in Qatar. The House, she added, helps young people “re-enter learning and professional spaces” while building a community rooted in shared experience, dignity and ambition. The House forms part of EAA's wider effort to keep Palestinian students learning amid severe disruption to Gaza's education system, where continuing schooling and gaining access to examinations have become major challenges. Inside Gaza, EAA and its partners have completed 100 learning spaces across 10 school sites under the “Rebuilding Hope for Gaza: Emergency Support for High School Exam (Tawjihi) for Gaza Students” initiative. The programme is designed to safeguard the Tawjihi, the secondary school-leaving examination that serves as a key gateway to university education and employment. More than 95,000 students have already sat their examinations through the programme, al-Attiyah said. The work has relied on flexible delivery models, learning and examination infrastructure, and close co-ordination with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners. The programme aims to reach 120,000 students by next year, helping more young Palestinians progress towards higher education and employment despite the continuing disruption. Al-Attiyah stressed that meaningful education recovery in Gaza would require more than restoring classrooms or holding examinations. “It requires safe learning environments, support for teachers, credible assessment and certification, catch-up opportunities for students who have lost years of learning, and clear pathways into higher education and employment,” she said. She also emphasised the importance of long-term partnerships in rebuilding Gaza's education system, noting that no single institution could undertake the task alone. EAA's work also extends to Palestinian students in the West Bank through partnerships with institutions including Birzeit University and Al-Quds Bard College. These partnerships seek to keep students in higher education as financial pressures, mobility restrictions and wider instability threaten their ability to continue their studies. Beyond financial support, they offer academic enrichment, civic engagement, professional exposure and connections with peers and institutions outside Palestine. For EAA, the wider objective is to ensure that young Palestinians retain access to education and opportunity despite the challenges they face. “Al Fakhoora House in Al Thumama represents a local extension of that mission — providing Palestinian youth in Qatar with a place to learn, build skills, connect with others and begin rebuilding their academic and professional futures,” al-Attiyah added.