Israeli war on Gaza schools will not erase children’s identity: Hamas

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
10 Sep 2024 00:27

The Palestinian Resistance group says the deprivation of 630,000 students of their right to education constitutes a "deliberate violation of all rights stipulated by international law."

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A girl draws on a blackboard in a classroom sheltering people displaced at a school run by the UNRWA in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on September 9, 2024. (AFP)

The international community should exert pressure on "Israel" to halt its genocidal acts in Gaza, which, among other impacts, is depriving thousands of Palestinian students of their right to education, underlined the Hamas movement.

In a statement released on Monday, Hamas highlighted that children in Gaza have been denied access to education for a second consecutive year.

It emphasized that the deprivation of 630,000 students of their right to education constitutes a "deliberate violation of all rights stipulated by international law," placing the responsibility on the international community and UN agencies to intervene and halt these violations.

The Palestinian Resistance group affirmed that such actions "will not break our people’s will, or erase their identity or take away their national rights."

Hamas underlined that "the Israeli war against schools and educational workers and facilities will not succeed in erasing our children’s Palestinian identity."

"These crimes will only be met with more perseverance by our people," it affirmed.

While this week marks the return to school for students across the region, thousands of children in Gaza are being deprived of this opportunity amid the ongoing Israeli war on the besieged Strip.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education reported that nearly 80% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed, with the last remaining university in the enclave demolished by the Israeli occupation forces in January.

According to the Ministry, since October, Israeli occupation forces have killed over 10,000 students and injured 15,000, while 19,000 students have been displaced from their homes.

The report also stated that 400 teachers have been killed, and 90% of school buildings have been damaged. Furthermore, 39,000 students were unable to take their high school exams, and 58,000 children were prevented from starting first grade.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA reported that four out of five school buildings in Gaza have been directly impacted or damaged by the ongoing war.

70% of UNRWA Gaza schools destroyed, majority housing displaced people

Last week, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini confirmed that over 70% of the agency's schools in Gaza have been either destroyed or severely damaged, pointing out that most of these schools have now become overcrowded shelters due to the fact that they house hundreds of thousands of displaced families, rendering them unusable for educational purposes.

"Boys and girls around the region are going back to UNRWA schools except in Gaza," Lazzarini wrote on X.

He highlighted that "more than 600,000 children there are deeply traumatized, living in the rubble. They continue to be deprived of learning + schooling. Half of them used to be in UNRWA schools."

Lazzarini added that "the longer children stay out of school, the higher the risk of a lost generation, fueling resentment & extremism."

In August, the UNRWA commissioner-general underlined that "Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war."

During their ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces have bombed numerous schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees sheltering displaced Palestinians and committed several massacres there using US-made bombs.

The United Nations says "Israel" has struck at least 23 schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza since July 4.

While the Israeli occupation military claims that it targets Palestinian fighters allegedly operating from these schools, Palestinian Resistance factions assert that they strictly adhere to a policy of avoiding civilian areas to prevent them from becoming targets of Israeli aggression.