Since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the West Bank on October 7, a total of 4,368 students have been brutally murdered and 8,101 others have been severely injured, the Ministry of Education revealed.

The Ministry further detailed in a statement that in Gaza, the number of students who were murdered by the IOF is now more than 4,327, while the number of injured reached 7,819. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the number is now 41 students brutally killed and 282 seriously injured. In addition, 85 of them were detained by the IOF, WAFA news agency reported.

As for teachers and administrators, 231 were killed and 756 others severely injured in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, five were injured and more than 71 were detained. 

They stated that 281 government schools and 65 affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and vandalized in the Gaza Strip, resulting in serious damage to 83 of them and the complete destruction of another seven. In parallel, 42 schools in the West Bank were stormed and vandalized.

Hence, the deliberate Israeli targeting of schools affected 90% of government schools and education buildings, from direct and indirect damage. In addition, 29% of school buildings could not be operated due to being completely demolished or severely damaged, noting that 133 government schools were used as shelter centers in the Gaza Strip, the Ministry confirmed. 

Students will have to attend schools for the second semester, however, 55 schools will shift to e-learning due to them being located in a “seam zone” — an area separated from the rest of the occupied West Bank by the occupation's wall and are usually surrounded by Israeli forces and settlers.

Read more: Occupation repeatedly cuts off telecoms, internet from Gaza

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Israeli aggression on Gaza takes toll on schools, children's future

A report by The Guardian on December 18 shed light on the impact of the ongoing Israeli aggression on education in Gaza, which will cast a long shadow over the future of children, as displaced students and teachers, along with destroyed buildings, make it unlikely for classes to resume for many months.

Mohammad Mosa, a 14-year-old student, packed his laptop in the hope of continuing classes online, but two months later, education has taken a backseat amid intense bombardment and a restrictive blockade, turning daily life in Gaza into a struggle for survival.

This little child in #Gaza couldn't fill his pot with food when he arrived at the queue. However, people gathered around him and each gave him a small portion of food so that he could share it with his family.

Rejoiced by that small amount of food, he headed back to his tent and… pic.twitter.com/Mkvtz8vWtU

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 16, 2023

“There is absolutely no form of education or schooling in the Gaza Strip at the moment,” said Jonathan Crick, a spokesperson for UNICEF in occupied al-Quds, as quoted by The Guardian.

“There were approximately 625,000 [school-age] students in the Gaza Strip before the escalation of hostilities and none of them are attending schools now. The level of violence and the ongoing hostilities, the intense bombing which is taking place, doesn’t allow for education.”

'Education system was already in a catastrophic situation'

Teachers and humanitarian organizations caution that even with the establishment of a prolonged ceasefire, achieving anything resembling normalcy in Gaza will be a protracted process due to the extensive damage.

“When we talk about education, we are talking about a system, as with healthcare,” Crick said. “It is absolutely impossible that these systems would be put back in place without a long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire. In order to be able to help the children properly and at scale, this is essential.”
 
The shortage of classrooms was already a significant issue before the current Israeli aggression, and it will pose a major challenge in the reconstruction efforts. Numerous schools adopted double shifts, accommodating one set of students in the morning and another in the afternoon. Consequently, damage to a single building can render two schools inoperable.

“You can just imagine the challenge that it will be to relaunch a proper education system, when it was already in such a catastrophic situation,” Crick said, as quoted by The Guardian.

Even with the reconstruction of classrooms, the provision of textbooks, and the training of new teachers, Musa is concerned that children's perceptions of schools may be altered. Many have experienced cramped conditions, enduring cold, hunger, filth, and terror due to Israeli bombing during their time in schools.