Israeli invasion of Gaza leaves 800,000 students without access to education, officials s
Since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October 2023, the IDF has launched numerous airstrikes on more than 342 educational facilities, including universities, in the Gaza Strip as part of its military operations in the war. According to the source, the number of victims from the higher education community reached 444 martyrs, including 425 students and 19 workers, and thousands were injured, whose numbers cannot be monitored due to the dangerous field conditions, and the numbers continue to rise in light of the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip.
The sources expected the number to be much higher than that. “As a result of the continuation of daily massacres against civilians,” in addition to huge numbers of victims still under the rubble, and civil defense crews were unable to recover them, in addition to unidentified victims, indicating the arrest of 114 students and seven workers in the education sector, while the university administration decided Haifa expelled seven students because they supported the Palestinian cause.
The Israeli army claims that such airstrikes are the result of the placement of military infrastructure and the launching of rockets from civilian areas, including schools. By late March 2024, the United Nations had recorded more than 200 Israeli attacks on schools in Gaza, with at least 53 schools destroyed. More than 1,600 academics have accused Israel of targeting education and committing school and educational genocide in Gaza. Sean Carroll, CEO of US Refugee Aid in the Near East, stated that “school extermination” is an accurate term to describe the targeting of schools.
The Gaza Ministry of Education reported that 4,037 students and 209 educational staff were killed, 7,259 students and 619 teachers were injured, and 352 schools were damaged between October 7 and December 26. On January 16, the Ministry of Education reported that 4,368 students had been killed and 388 schools damaged since October 7. Human rights groups reported that 94 university professors were killed.
By February 4, 2024, the Gaza Ministry of Education announced that 4,800 students had been killed. In March 2024, the Ministry of Education reported that 5,479 students had been killed so far. By the end of March, the Ministry of Education reported that the total number had risen to 5,881 students.
Save the Children, UNICEF, and Palestinian health officials described children as being left with permanent disabilities, mental health problems, and amputations, with thousands suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, and respiratory and skin diseases. By late March 2024, an estimated 13,000 children had been killed in Gaza, and thousands more were buried under the rubble.
The Deputy Director of UNICEF described the conditions of children in Gaza as “the most horrific” he had ever witnessed. The ongoing crisis has also affected routine vaccinations, leaving thousands of children vulnerable, and additional challenges have included inadequate shelter, not enough winter coats, and the psychological impact on children’s mental health.
