Gaza Student Scores 99.9% to Lead National Science Exams

An 18-year-old student from Gaza has achieved the highest score in the Palestinian national high school exams, a remarkable academic triumph achieved amid the profound personal loss and widespread destruction of the ongoing war. Saba Rabah, from the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, earned a score of 99.9 percent, ranking first in the nation in the science stream of the Tawjihi examinations. The results, announced in late July 2026, mark the first time the critical exams have been held in the territory since the conflict began in October 2023.

Rabah's success came despite a series of devastating personal tragedies. Her father, Fayed Rabah, a teacher with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), was killed in an Israeli airstrike in June 2024. The family's home was demolished in January 2024, and they were displaced multiple times, with Rabah stating she could no longer count the number of times they were forced to flee. Just days before her final examinations in June, the house opposite their temporary shelter was bombed, forcing the family to flee once more and leave behind their remaining possessions.

The Tawjihi examinations were held in June simultaneously in...