DaysofPal – A new report by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has documented the destruction of Gaza’s education system, revealing that 17,902 Palestinians connected to the sector have been killed since the Israeli assault began in October 2023.
The report, released Wednesday under the title “For the Third Year Without Education,” details the scale of what it calls a deliberate campaign against Gaza’s students, teachers, and academic institutions.
According to the findings, 16,879 school-aged children have been killed during the war, alongside 523 university students, 830 teachers and education staff, and 193 academics and researchers. These losses, the report says, represent the erasure of an entire generation’s chance at education.
The report also shows that Gaza’s physical educational infrastructure has been devastated:95 percent of schools have sustained damage, with 662 directly bombed and 116 indirectly hit.
Today, nine out of ten schools and universities in the Strip require complete rebuilding before they can reopen. Many surviving buildings are currently being used as shelters for displaced families.
Beyond the physical destruction, Al Mezan highlights the profound psychological impact on Gaza’s children. Primary school students face long-term trauma, high school seniors have seen their exams repeatedly postponed, and university students in hands-on disciplines have lost all access to training.
The absence of classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and even basic supplies such as desks and chairs has deepened the crisis.
Al Mezan stresses that a return to education is impossible without a full ceasefire and a large-scale reconstruction program. It urges international accountability for what it describes as a systematic annihilation of Gaza’s education system, calling on global institutions, UN agencies, and donor states to rebuild schools, provide psychosocial support for students, and establish temporary housing so educational facilities can return to their intended purpose.
The center appealed to the international community to act decisively to stop the genocide, end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and hold those responsible for crimes against Palestinians accountable.
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