DaysofPal – The Gaza Center for Human Rights has expressed grave concern over the comprehensive collapse of the education sector in the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s ongoing military assault continues to devastate educational infrastructure and directly and indirectly target students, teachers, and academic institutions.
The Center also warned that systematic restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) have further intensified the crisis, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of their fundamental right to education.
Widespread Destruction Paralyzes Education Across Gaza
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Center cited the latest data from United Nations agencies, including UNESCO, UNRWA, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which show that approximately 745,000 students in Gaza have been denied access to formal education since October 2023 for the third consecutive academic year. Among them are nearly 88,000 university students whose higher education has come to a complete halt—an unprecedented situation that threatens the loss of an entire generation of Palestinian children and youth.
According to verified UN reports, between 95 and 97 percent of schools and educational facilities across Gaza have sustained partial or total damage. This includes public schools, UNRWA schools, and private educational institutions. Many have been completely destroyed, while hundreds of others are no longer usable and require full reconstruction or extensive rehabilitation.
Targeting UNRWA and Educators Deepens the Crisis
The Center emphasized that Israeli policies aimed at restricting UNRWA’s operations—including attacks on its educational facilities, obstruction of the entry of educational materials and supplies, funding constraints, and campaigns of incitement and disinformation—have directly deepened the education crisis. As the primary provider of education services for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA operates hundreds of schools and delivers basic education to tens of thousands of students. Undermining its operational capacity, the Center warned, effectively denies refugee children access to education and eliminates any realistic prospect of resuming the educational process.
The Israeli military assault has also resulted in severe human losses within the educational community. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, since October 7, 2023, more than 20,000 students have been killed and over 31,000 injured. In addition, approximately 1,037 teachers and administrative staff have been killed, while nearly 4,757 others have been wounded. The Center noted that these losses have emptied schools and universities of qualified personnel and weakened the future capacity to rebuild the education system.
The Center further highlighted that strict closures and restrictions on freedom of movement have prevented thousands of Palestinian students from continuing their education outside the Gaza Strip. It reported receiving hundreds of complaints from students who had secured university admissions and scholarships abroad but were barred from travel, resulting in the loss of academic opportunities and entire academic years.
Specialized reports indicate that prolonged educational disruption—combined with the destruction of schools, restrictions on UNRWA, and travel bans—has caused an unprecedented educational loss equivalent to three to five years of effective learning. The Center warned that this will have catastrophic long-term consequences for human development and social and economic stability, raising fears of a “lost generation” in Gaza.
The Gaza Center for Human Rights concluded that Israel’s actions amount to systematic targeting of the education sector and held Israeli authorities fully responsible for the destruction of educational infrastructure and the denial of students’ rights. It called on the international community to ensure freedom of movement for Palestinian students, protect educational institutions, support UNRWA, and launch independent international investigations into attacks on education.
The Center warned that continued international silence in the face of this deepening educational catastrophe threatens the future of an entire generation in the Gaza Strip.
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