The Israeli occupation continues to commit a systematic crime against the education sector in the Gaza Strip, as part of a comprehensive war against Palestine’s children.
What is happening in the Strip is not merely a military assault – it is a deliberate uprooting of all the foundations of life, foremost among them education, which is supposed to be the last line of defence for any society facing destruction.
Yet this last line has been demolished, levelled to the ground, leaving more than 720,000 students adrift, deprived of their desks, pens, and dreams.
Field data and the latest official statistics indicate that 95.2% of schools in the Gaza Strip have been damaged to varying degrees. Around 88.5% of school buildings require either complete reconstruction or major renovations.
A total of 241 government schools have been severely damaged, and 111 have been completely destroyed. Additionally, 91 government schools and 89 UNRWA schools were subjected to direct bombing and vandalism, according to a report by the Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights.
In addition to the bombings that have targeted governmental, UNRWA, private, and charitable educational institutions throughout the Gaza Strip, Al-Mezan highlights a clear link between the forced displacement of residents and the destruction of schools.
The first evacuation orders for residents of northern Gaza Strip demanded complete displacement to the south. Occupation forces then destroyed the schools that had been evacuated in the northern areas, with a 100% destruction rate in those zones.
In Gaza governorate areas that were evacuated, the destruction rate reached 92.8%.
Estimates suggest that 91% of schools in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, were destroyed following the complete evacuation orders for the city.
Moreover, many schools were repurposed for military use, serving as army bases and detention centres.
The occupation army did not stop at destruction – it converted several schools into military barracks, detention centres, and torture sites, completely erasing their educational identity.
But the catastrophe extends beyond infrastructure.
The following numbers speak for themselves: 13,419 students have been killed, and 21,653 injured. Additionally, 651 education workers were killed, and 2,791 wounded, according to the Ministry of Education.
As for detainees, no precise figures exist, but estimates suggest hundreds of students and teachers are still missing, with their fate unknown.
As the assault enters its nineteenth month, hopes of salvaging the academic year are fading.
Attempts to resume education – including through online platforms – have failed.
The occupation army renewed its assault on March 18, 2025, derailing the Ministry of Education’s efforts to launch high school exams online, which were consequently postponed for a second time.
In the midst of this reality, student Marah Shabaneh summarises the scene: ‘Fear is our daily companion. We’ve lost our passion and ambition. It’s hard to keep going.’
Her words are not just a personal lament – they echo the collective despair of a generation whose dreams were crushed under the rubble.
Education in Gaza is completely paralysed amid insecurity, electricity and internet shortages, and the conversion of more than 62% of schools into shelters.
Students and teachers are living under brutal conditions, sharing pain, loss, and deprivation. In this environment, it is impossible to speak of normal education – or even a viable alternative.
Yet despite everything, some initiatives still struggle to survive. In Al-Nuseirat Camp, Bassan Al-Sardi launched an educational initiative in a simple tent accommodating 150 students over three shifts, relying on volunteers. But she says: ‘We suffer from a lack of psychological support, insecurity, and sometimes education stops altogether due to bombings and evacuation orders.’
Student Sham Ammar reveals another side of the tragedy: ‘I study by sunlight or phone flashlight. I walk long distances to download lessons. I suffer from malnutrition and psychological stress.’
In such conditions, neither online education nor limited initiatives can bridge the massive gap left by the assault.
The Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights has condemned the systematic targeting of the education sector, labelling it a crime of genocide against the Palestinian people.
The centre called for urgent international action to end the assault, lift the blockade, and hold those responsible for crimes against students and educators accountable.
What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not merely a humanitarian disaster – it is a civilisational collapse in which a major crime is being committed against hope and the future.
Israel has not only killed the present, but is deliberately crushing the future and erasing every connection this people has to its right to life, education, and dignity.
Piles of waste and sewage in Gaza spreading disease
Displaced people in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, are suffering from extremely dire health conditions due to piles of waste accumulating every few metres.
Um Yasser Dawoud, who lives in one of the tents there, is an asthma patient.
Her health condition has worsened due to the stench of waste and sewage that blows in with every gust of air.
She said: ‘This place has become a source of diseases. Stray dogs gather at night and bark loudly, terrifying the children.
‘Mosquitoes and flies never leave our tents either.’
What makes matters worse is the disposal of many dead animal carcasses in the same dumps, due to the difficulty of burying them amid the harsh conditions in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing Israeli bombardment across all areas.
Um Yasser continued: ‘This increases the foul odours and spreads diseases because of the worms coming out of them and the insects infesting the area.’
Mohammed Abu Dan, a resident of Al-Saha area in central Gaza City, shares how the random waste dumps have caused his four-month-old infant daughter to develop skin problems due to constant mosquito and fly bites.
He said: ‘My daughter’s body is covered in tiny blisters, and her skin is irritated because of the insects that never leave my house.
‘I tried using primitive methods since there are no pesticides or fumigation tools, but all attempts failed.’
During a medical checkup, the doctor asked Mohammed about the nature of the place he lived in.
He explained that he lives in a partially destroyed ground-floor apartment, just a few metres away from a waste dump recently created by residents, due to the inability of Gaza Municipality to transport the waste to its main safe dumps.
According to Sam Rose, Director of Planning at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), people are living around ‘a volcano of grey and brown waste sediments’ because they have no other choice.
He added: ‘People are literally living amid waste. Mass displacement has burdened everyone.’
UNRWA had previously confirmed that the accumulation of waste in the Gaza Strip poses a threat to people’s health and lives. In a post on the platform ‘X’ on March 28, UNRWA said that many people are forced to live in tents amid piles of garbage.
The UN agency emphasised that the worsening waste crisis increases environmental and health challenges, and that Palestinians’ struggle to survive under severe humanitarian conditions has become increasingly difficult.
The Union of Gaza Strip Municipalities warned of the continued humanitarian catastrophe affecting the residents of the Strip due to the war of extermination.
It confirmed that municipalities are unable to respond effectively because of a lack of equipment and essential resources amid massive destruction to infrastructure, and to service, environmental, and health sectors.
