DaysofPal – Israel’s war on Gaza has devastated every facet of life, and the education sector has not been spared. From the beginning, the assault has been total—erasing lives, homes, and the very spaces meant to nurture minds and safeguard futures.
In what can only be described as a targeted campaign to dismantle the pillars of Palestinian society, schools across the Gaza Strip have been bombed, burned, and repurposed into military zones. The result is a broken education system and a generation of students stripped of their right to learn.
According to the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, 95.2% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged, with 88.5% needing full reconstruction or major repair.
241 government schools have suffered severe damage, while 111 have been completely destroyed. Another 91 government schools and 89 UNRWA-run schools were directly attacked and vandalized.
More than 720,000 students are now out of school. The toll on human life is catastrophic: 13,419 students killed, 21,653 injured, alongside 651 educators killed and 2,791 injured, according to the Ministry of Education.
In many areas, schools emptied by forced evacuations were bombed afterward—100% destroyed in northern Gaza, 92.8% in Gaza City, and 91% in Rafah.
Others were taken over and turned into Israeli army bases and detention centers, erasing their identity as places of learning.
Efforts to restart education—even online—have collapsed. After Israel resumed its full assault on March 18, the Ministry of Education was forced to cancel plans for remote high school exams for the second time.
With over 62% of schools now turned into shelters, and no electricity, internet, or safety, education is at a complete standstill.
In Gaza, education has not been caught in the crossfire—it has been deliberately dismantled. And as the war drags into its nineteenth month, the future of an entire generation hangs in the balance.
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