Thousands of Palestinian students have been killed or injured, with schools and universities destroyed, as the education system in Gaza and the West Bank faces unprecedented devastation.
An estimated 12,943 students have been killed and 21,681 injured in the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank since October 7 last year, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
It said the number of students killed in Gaza during that period was more than 12,790, and 21,026 injured, while 120 students were killed in the West Bank and 655 others injured, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Tuesday.
High school students in Gaza, “Tawjihi,” sit on the ground in search of education after the occupation destroyed their classrooms. pic.twitter.com/FOITKnNnhv
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In addition, 630 teachers and administrators were killed, and 3,865 were injured in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with more than 158 arrested in the West Bank.
Schools, Universities Destroyed
The Education Ministry pointed out that 425 government schools, universities and buildings, and 65 affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), were bombed and vandalized in Gaza, according to WAFA.
The report added that 109 schools and seven universities were stormed and vandalized in the West Bank.
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The Ministry noted that 788,000 students in the Gaza Strip were still deprived of attending their schools and universities since the beginning of Israel’s military aggression. Most students, it emphasized, suffer from psychological trauma and face difficult health conditions.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A video documents an Israeli Apache helicopter firing at Palestinians' homes in northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/py0niB84uk
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The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,200 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,541 Palestinians have been killed, and 108,338 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
Humanitarian Disaster
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
Heavy rains have flooded the tents of displaced families in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, leaving them without shelter. Their suffering continues to worsen. pic.twitter.com/cdc9jpbRFk
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 31, 2024
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(WAFA, PC)
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