The Palestinian Ministry of Education announced Tuesday that more than 20,000 students have been killed and over 31,000 injured since the onset of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and serious escalation in the occupied West Bank, which began on October 7, 2023.
According to the ministry’s statement:
- Student casualties:
- In Gaza, 19,910 students were killed and 30,097 injured.
- In the West Bank, 148 students were killed, 1,042 injured, and 846 detained.
- Educational staff:
- 1,037 teachers and administrators were killed.
- 4,740 were injured across both regions.
- Over 228 were detained in the West Bank.
- Destruction of educational infrastructure:
- 179 public schools in Gaza were completely destroyed.
- 63 university buildings were reduced to rubble.
- 118 public schools and more than 100 UNRWA-run schools were bombed or vandalized.
- 30 schools—along with their students and staff—were entirely erased from the educational registry.
- West Bank damage:
Israeli forces demolished Ameera Elementary School in Yatta (Hebron) and Aqaba Elementary School in Tubas. Eight universities and colleges were repeatedly raided and damaged.
The ministry emphasized that the scale of destruction has not only disrupted education but has also targeted the very foundations of Palestinian academic life.
On the twelfth day of the ceasefire following 735 days of genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis remains dire, Gaza faces dire humanitarian conditions amidst ongoing Israeli violations and limited amount of humanitarian aid.
On Sunday, Israeli forces launched a wave of airstrikes across Gaza, killing at least 44 Palestinians and wounding many more.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces continue to enforce a “fire control zone” up to 1.5 kilometers inside Gaza, preventing displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes.
The situation remains volatile, and the ceasefire hangs by a thread. As international actors scramble to preserve it, the people of Gaza continue to suffer under the weight of destruction, displacement, and grief.
The overall toll of Israel’s genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has now reached more than 68,159 Palestinians killed and 170,203 wounded, the vast majority of them children, women, and the elderly. These figures reflect the scale of devastation and the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
