Latest figures show about 10,000 Palestinian students along with 400 teachers have been killed in the besieged enclave since the beginning of Israel’s war on October 7.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education said on Monday that it presented a report last month about the way that Israel’s targeting of schools in Gaza has “eroded the foundation for sustained societal growth”.
Amjad Barham, Palestinian Minister of Education and Higher Education, said on Monday that 39,000 high school students from the Gaza Strip did not take the exam this year.
Barham added, “There is no overall pass rate because the number of students is incomplete”, due to the killing of 10,000 students in Gaza and the inability of the remaining students to take the exams amid the months-long war.
More than 76 percent of schools in Gaza require “full reconstruction or major rehabilitation” to be functional, according to the United Nations.
Based on satellite imagery collected in May, the new Education Cluster assessment highlights a “continuous spike in the direct targeting of schools” in the besieged and bombarded territory.
Of the school buildings used as shelters for displaced people in Gaza, 69 percent have been directly hit or damaged in attacks and more than 96 percent of the schools directly attacked – 296 in total – were located in areas subject to Israeli military evacuation orders, it added.
In April, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said eight out of 10 schools in Gaza are damaged or destroyed with an estimated 620,000 students out of school. Nearly half of Gaza’s population is under 18, and its education system was already struggling after several wars and escalations since 2008.
Back in April, UN experts expressed deep concern over the pattern of Israel’s attacks on schools, universities, teachers, and students in the Gaza Strip, raising serious alarm over the “systemic” destruction of the Palestinian education system.
“With more than 80% of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, it may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide’,” the experts stated.
Israel has completely destroyed 117 schools and universities, while partially destroyed 332 schools and universities in Gaza. More than 107 scientists, university professors, and researchers were also killed.
Since the start of Israel’s war, Tel Aviv has killed at least 39,360 Palestinians and injured over 90,920.
The Government Media Office in Gaza reported on Tuesday that Israel has killed at least 16,000 children in the besieged territory since October. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
