Ghassan Elashi was born on 19 December 1953 in a suburb of Gaza City. In 1958 he moved to Riyadh where his father was working for the Riyadh Bank. After one year in a local school he was sent to a boarding school in Egypt for a year before returning to Gaza City to live with his grandparents.
Ghassan Elashi's early life experiences include being born in Gaza City, moving to Riyadh, attending a local school, and then boarding school in Egypt before returning to Gaza City to live with his grandparents.