Israel has targeted more than 500 schools across the Gaza Strip that were serving as shelters for displaced civilians since the beginning of its military campaign in October 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
The rights group accused Israeli forces of carrying out hundreds of airstrikes on schools hosting Palestinian families fleeing bombardment, including what it described as “unlawfully indiscriminate attacks using US munitions.”
“Since October 2023, Israeli occupation authorities have carried out hundreds of strikes on schools sheltering displaced Palestinians, including unlawfully indiscriminate attacks using US munitions, that have killed hundreds of civilians and damaged or destroyed virtually all of Gaza’s schools,” the organization said.
HRW emphasized the devastating long-term consequences of these attacks, not only on civilians who sought refuge but also on Gaza’s education system, which is now nearly non-existent.
“The Israeli attacks have denied civilians safe access to shelter and will contribute to the disruption of access to education for many years, as repair and reconstruction of schools can require significant resources and time,” the statement continued.
According to the organization, these school bombings are part of a broader and ongoing Israeli military offensive that has destroyed much of Gaza’s remaining civilian infrastructure, forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, and worsened an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
In its appeal to the international community, HRW urged decisive action.
“Governments — including the United States — which has provided weapons used in unlawful attacks, should impose an arms embargo on the Israeli government and take other urgent measures to enforce the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention),” the group demanded.
The attacks on schools come as Gaza’s population faces immense challenges in accessing food, water, shelter, and medical care, with most public services and institutions either destroyed or severely damaged.
The obliteration of Gaza’s educational infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of children with no access to schooling, compounding the trauma and long-term consequences of war.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=66412
