Gaza, 2 September 2024 — As millions of school and university students around the world embark on a new academic year, over 600,000 Palestinian students in Gaza are losing yet another year of education due to Israel’s genocide. Indeed, as part of its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Israel has pursued the wholesale destruction of the Palestinian education system. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, since 7 October 2023, Israel’s genocidal military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 10,490 school and university students, and 16,700 more have been injured. More than 500 schoolteachers and university educators have also been killed.
Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza’s educational infrastructure has resulted in the complete disruption of schooling, leaving a whole generation of Palestinians without access to education. All schools, universities, or training centers in Gaza have remained closed since the beginning of the ongoing genocide. A staggering 625,000 school-aged children have been forced to miss an entire academic year, with no prospect of resuming any time soon. Hundreds of school buildings have been deliberately targeted and destroyed by the Israeli military. Those that are still standing have been repurposed as shelters housing hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons.
As of 10 July 2024, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that two-thirds of its schools—188 out of 288—had been subjected to attacks by Israeli forces, including 76 schools that were directly targeted. Public schools have suffered similar devastation, with 285 of the 448 institutions destroyed. In other words, Israeli attacks have destroyed about two-thirds of the public schools in Gaza. Additionally, the Palestinian Minister of Education reported that more than 80 percent of the buildings housing higher education institutions have been destroyed by the Israeli military.
Israel’s systematic destruction of Palestinian educational facilities, vital infrastructure, and homes has not only disrupted the academic year but also cast a shadow over the prospects of hudrends of thousands of students in Gaza. The task of rebuilding these institutions is a daunting challenge that will take years, if not decades, further hindering the educational aspirations of Gaza’s youth. In an interview with Al Mezan, Mr. Farid Abu Athra, UNRWA’s Chief of Education Program in Gaza, said that the educational losses experienced by Palestinian students over the past ten months are irreparable.
This disruption will have long-lasting effects on the academic achievements and personal development of students, likely increasing dropout rates, child labor, and early marriage. Adham Dawoud, a high school senior from Khan Younis, recounted: “My whole life turned upside down. Instead of pursuing my dream to study interior design, now I work day and night to provide for my family’s necessities. I feel as if I were an insignificant person with nothing to aspire to except the end of this war.”
A fifth-grade student who attended an UNRWA school shared with Al Mezan: “My daily routine involves standing in line for many hours to get water for my family and then carrying it back to our tent. I also search for firewood and help my mother make cookies, which I sell to help meet our needs. I used to keep my books with me, hoping to return to school one day. However, I lost them while constantly moving from one place to another.” These testimonies underscore the profound and long-lasting impact of Israel’s systematic campaign against Gaza’s education system. The deliberate targeting of schools, universities, and educators is a blatant violation of international law and a grievous assault on the future of Palestinian children and youth.
For more information and a deeper analysis, please read our latest short research paper, “Scholasticide: Israel’s deliberate and systematic destruction of the Palestinian education system in Gaza”.
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This press release is reposted from the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights site
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