Palestinian schools, universities suffer extensive damage as education system reels under current war
More than 11,825 Palestinian students have been killed in Israeli attacks since October of last year, the Palestinian Education Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry, based in Ramallah, published data outlining the scale of violence targeting students and educational institutions across the Palestinian territories.
The report revealed that Gaza alone has witnessed the killing of more than 11,057 school-age students, with more than 16,897 others injured. Among university students, 681 have been reported dead and 1,468 injured.
In the West Bank, 79 school students and 35 university students have been killed, alongside hundreds of injuries and detentions across both groups.
The report also detailed extensive casualties among educational staff in Gaza and the West Bank; a total of 441 teachers and school staff in Gaza have lost their lives, with another 2,491 injured. In the West Bank, two school personnel have been killed, 17 injured, and 139 detained.
The ministry highlighted severe losses among university faculty, with 117 academic staff members in Gaza confirmed dead.
The report further detailed widespread destruction to educational infrastructure, with 406 schools in Gaza, 65 of which are run by UNRWA, suffering various degrees of damage. Of these, 77 schools have been completely destroyed. In the West Bank, 84 schools have sustained damages.
Higher education institutions in Gaza have also suffered immensely as 20 universities reported significant damage, with 51 university buildings entirely demolished and 57 partially destroyed.
The ministry added that 88,000 university students in Gaza and roughly 700,000 school students have been denied access to their institutions.
Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 43,000 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 101,200 others.
The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 2,790 people and injured over 12,770 others since October last year.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.
