Gaza Herald – Young Palestinians are facing a deepening economic and educational crisis, with unemployment among youth in Gaza reaching 85.5% in 2025, according to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
Young people make up around 21% of Palestine’s population, numbering approximately 1.2 million. About 444,000 live in Gaza, where Israel’s ongoing attacks, forced displacement and destruction of homes, universities and workplaces have severely restricted opportunities for an entire generation.
The unemployment crisis is even more severe among young women. In Gaza, unemployment reached 94% among young women, compared with 81.3% among young men. In the West Bank, youth unemployment stood at 37.3%.
The human cost of the genocide is also reflected in the number of young Palestinians killed. PCBS reported that more than 73,386 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza by August 11, 2026, with young people accounting for around 24% of the fatalities.
Education has suffered devastating losses as well. Since October 2023, 1,422 Palestinian university students have been killed, including 1,383 in Gaza, while more than 3,350 students have been injured and over 492 university students from the occupied West Bank have reportedly been detained.
Despite the devastation, Palestinian youth continue to demonstrate resilience and a strong connection to technology. Nearly 97.7% of young people in the West Bank use the internet, while 96.8% own mobile phones, highlighting the potential for digital work, innovation and entrepreneurship if meaningful opportunities are made available.
But more than a third of young people in the occupied West Bank remain outside employment, education or training. PCBS warns that expanding vocational education, digital skills, entrepreneurship and sustainable employment opportunities is essential.
Palestinian youth are not simply a demographic statistic. They are a generation whose education, livelihoods and futures have been profoundly disrupted by occupation, displacement and genocide, and investing in their survival, rights and opportunities is essential to Palestine’s future.
