The Ministry of Education and Higher Education reported a harrowing toll of 13,177 students killed and 21,991 others injured since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank on October 7, 2023.
In its statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry revealed that Gaza alone accounts for over 13,054 student fatalities and 21,320 injuries, while the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, has witnessed the deaths of 123 students and injuries to 671 others. Additionally, 560 students have been detained in the West Bank.
The violence has also claimed the lives of 657 teachers and administrative staff, with 3,904 injured and more than 165 detained. Educational infrastructure has suffered catastrophic damage, with 324 schools and universities in Gaza bombed, including 65 facilities managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Of these, 128 were completely destroyed and 57 partially damaged. Meanwhile, 109 schools and seven universities in the West Bank have been subjected to incursions and vandalism.
More than 788,000 students have been denied access to education, many grappling with severe psychological trauma and dire living conditions.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli campaign in Gaza, described as genocidal by many observers, has resulted in over 155,000 Palestinian casualties, including a staggering number of children and women, alongside massive destruction and famine affecting the most vulnerable populations.
