A report issued by the government media office in Gaza has revealed shocking figures on the extent of the destruction that befell the education sector. Local authorities have described the findings as tantamount to “educational genocide” that threatens the future of an entire generation of children in the Strip.

According to the report, a copy of which was received by the Canary, 95% of Gaza’s schools were severely damaged during the war, while 90% of them need complete reconstruction due to the widespread destruction of educational infrastructure.

80% of schools destroyed by Israel

An analysis of the report’s figures revealed that 668 schools were directly bombed, representing 80% of the total number of schools in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, 165 schools, universities, and educational institutions were completely destroyed, and 392 other educational institutions were partially damaged, completely halting the educational process for the third consecutive year.

Figures show that 785,000 students were deprived of their right to education for the third academic year in a row, while more than 13,500 students lost their lives under Israeli bombing. The report also confirmed the killing of 830 teachers and educational staff, and 193 scientists and researchers, which observers describe as “systematic targeting of the Palestinian mind”.

Israel not only destroyed schools, laboratories, and universities, but also targeted teachers and researchers who constitute the intellectual core of Palestine’s future. An official from the government media office in Gaza said that:

what is happening is not just a war, but an organised process to obliterate national awareness and identity by destroying the entire educational system.

Education…another victim of genocide

Local, human rights, and international institutions have confirmed at varying times that the continued targeting of schools and educational facilities constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee the protection of civilian institutions, especially educational ones, during armed conflicts.

Tens of thousands of children in Gaza face severe psychological and educational difficulties, in light of the absence of a safe school environment and the lack of the necessary capabilities for distance learning, as hundreds of schools have been turned into shelters or rubble.

In the absence of any international plan to rebuild the education sector, officials at the Gaza media office warn that losing three consecutive years of education will have a “long-term catastrophic impact” on the invading society, considering that the war has not only killed children and teachers, but has “assassinated the entire future.”

As the war enters its third year, rebuilding schools and educational institutions must become an urgent priority within any plan to rebuild Gaza, given that “saving education is the first step to restoring life to the besieged Strip”.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Al Jazeera English

By Alaa Shamali

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