Gaza PhD scholar is now baker to feed family, others amid Israel’s war

‘It is my mission to teach Palestinian students, even if I must build a classroom, brick by brick,’ Bader Slaih says.Published On 5 Jan 2026Bader Slaih is one of many Palestinian scholars from Gaza who had to put down his books amid Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.Slaih, who was displaced multiple times from Bureij in central Gaza with his family, started baking bread to feed them during the war, but he still has dreams to enrich the minds of students in Gaza, who have suffered deaths in their families, a loss of their homes and the decimation of their schools and education.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Severe weather in Gaza hits vulnerable and wounded most in Israel’s warlist 2 of 4Poverty, unemployment skyrocket in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s warlist 3 of 4Israel launches deadly strikes in Gaza in new ceasefire violationslist 4 of 4Israel extends Gaza occupation beyond ‘yellow line’ in north, bombs southend of list“The war was hard on everyone. We were tormented and humiliated,” he said.“Out of a dire need, we built a brick oven to make bread for our children,” Slaih told Al Jazeera.“We had to bake to feed our children and others,” he added.Bader Slaih is pictured baking bread [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]Palestinians have always been deeply committed to learning.Before Israel’s war, the education sector in Gaza was thriving, and literacy rates were reported to be among the highest in the world.According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the illiteracy rate stood at 2.1 percent among Palestinians aged 15 and older in 2023.Slaih said he was always committed to his studies since early childhood into adolescence before he got his master’s and doctorate degrees in Egypt, and returned to Gaza to serve his homeland.“[After I came back] I filed all my certificates with universities, hoping to start my teaching career,” he told Al Jazeera.“But then disaster struck – the war began.”Slaih’s wife and son left Gaza for medical reasons as he was left behind during the war.