In Gaza, Maha Taha reflects on the impact of Israel's military actions on her former students, using an old photograph from June 2023 to illustrate how their lives changed. The image shows 15 teenage girls posing together before their mock exams; four months later, war disrupted their futures. Al Jazeera traced these young women three years later: one has been killed, four have left Gaza, and others' education was interrupted. Despite the damage to Muscat Secondary School where they once studied, some of the girls were reunited there for another photograph in September 2024, symbolizing the lasting effects of conflict on their lives.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Nuseirat, Gaza Strip — Maha Taha fills the old blackboard with equations and sets her students to work.
asserted
Taha → fill → students
For the next few minutes, the classroom settles into the scratch of pens and the low murmur of girls working through the problems.
asserted
classroom → settle → problems
Maha, 43, has taught mathematics for 20 years.
asserted
Maha → teach → years
Dressed in an olive-green jalabeya and beige hijab, she steps quietly to her desk at the side of the room, as her students work through the maths problems.
asserted
students → dress → problems
She has watched generations of girls pass through her classroom, preparing for exams and applying to universities.
asserted
generations → watch → universities
Asked about the girls she taught before the October 7 genocide began, Maha pauses before reaching for her phone.
asserted
Maha → ask → phone
While scrolling back to find a photograph taken in June 2023, she speaks softly, so as not to disturb the girls in the classroom.
asserted
she → scroll → classroom
“I was proud of them," she says.
asserted
she → say → them
"I could see that they had bright futures ahead of them.
uncertain
they → see → them
They were very special in their personalities, even before it came to their studies.
asserted
They → come → studies
But October 7 changed the course of their lives.”
asserted
October → change → lives
In the photo, 15 teenage girls in navy school robes and white scarves crowd around Maha in the schoolyard.
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girls → crowd → schoolyard
Some have their arms around one another; others lean towards the camera.
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others → have → camera
All are smiling.
asserted
All → smile → ?
They had just finished their mock exams and wanted a photograph together.
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They → finish → photograph
Sara Rayan took it, holding out the phone so everyone fit in the frame.
asserted
everyone → take → frame
Like many teenagers their age, they worried about exams and university places, talked about what they wanted to become, and imagined the lives that lay ahead.
Four months later, Israel's war on Gaza began.
Three years on, one of the girls in the photograph has been killed in an Israeli air strike.
asserted
one → worry → strike
Others have been displaced - their education interrupted and their plans for the future upended.
asserted
plans → displace → future
Al Jazeera set out to find the 15 girls, to discover what had happened to them and the futures they once imagined, and to see whether they could be brought together again for a photograph in the same schoolyard.
uncertain
they → set → schoolyard
Muscat Secondary School is still standing, although it was struck by artillery in February 2024 and became a shelter for displaced families.
asserted
it → stand → families
Some classrooms still bear the marks of the war: holes left by quadcopter gunfire, windows damaged by shelling and soot stains where families cooked over open fires.
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families → bear → fires
On the walls, children have drawn kites, flowers and a Palestinian flag.
asserted
children → draw → kites
Some have written their names: Haya, Marah, Mohammed and Khaled.
asserted
Some → write → names
Displaced families still shelter in parts of the school, while a tent at the edge of the yard serves as a makeshift classroom for younger pupils whose own school can no longer accommodate them.
asserted
school → shelter → them
It's just past 10am on a Thursday in late September when Yasmin Abu Zaid arrives.
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Zaid → arrive → September
Then Aya Adnan arrives, quickening her pace when she sees Yasmin and pulling her into an embrace.
asserted
she → arrive → embrace
“I haven’t seen you for three years,” she says.
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she → see → years
You never show up.”
asserted
You → show → ?
Lina Yunis Abd al-Qader arrives a few minutes later, carrying a plastic bag of books for Aya’s younger sister, who is preparing for the Tawjihi, Gaza’s national secondary school graduation exams.
asserted
who → arrive → Tawjihi
Aya and Lina have seen each other since leaving school.
asserted
Aya → see → school
Their families have been friends for years, and they still live in the same neighbourhood of Nuseirat.
asserted
they → live → Nuseirat
But Yasmin, who once lived nearby, was displaced early in the war.
asserted
who → live → war
With the fighting making it difficult to meet, neither has seen her for three years.
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neither → make → years
The three have also kept in touch with Ghaida Zaqout, who now lives in Egypt.
asserted
who → keep → Egypt
Together, they have a private WhatsApp group where they chat regularly and check on one another.
asserted
they → have → one
When Maha finishes teaching, she greets "my girls" with arms wide open.
asserted
she → finish → arms
They erupt into chatter, talking over one another and trying to catch up.
asserted
They → erupt → one
In time, Maha pulls up the old photograph on her phone.
asserted
Maha → pull → phone
The girls huddle around her, then point at the tree behind them, recognising it from the photograph.
asserted
girls → huddle → photograph
Now, they begin recalling the school days they shared.
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they → begin → days
…and 262 more, not listed.
The Aporia
