JEDDAH: OIC Media Observatory for Israeli Crimes against Palestinians has said the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip has severely disrupted the education of students for the second consecutive year.
According to a special report on education by the OIC Media Observatory on Thursday, approximately 360,000 students in the Gaza Strip are unable to attend school because of the destruction of schools and educational facilities, displacement, and the conversion of schools into shelters for displaced persons.
It added around 88,000 university students are also unable to continue their education for different reasons. The report said over the course of one year, from October 07, 2023, to October 07, 2024, a tragic total of 10,558 school students and 667 university students in Gaza, as well as 79 school students and 35 university students in the West Bank, were killed by Israel.
The report said the number of injured students in the Gaza Strip has reached 34,015. This ongoing conflict continues to have devastating impacts on the education and well-being of students.
As for the educational staff, it is notable that 425 individuals involved in school education and 117 individuals involved in university education in the Gaza Strip were killed by the Israeli occupation forces. While 3,700 school and university staff in the Strip were injured.
The Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip resulted in the complete destruction of 62 government schools and significant damage to 124 others. Additionally, 126 government schools and 65 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) schools were targeted.
The report said the attacks also led to the destruction of 35 university buildings, partial damage to 20 educational institutions, and harm to 57 university buildings.
Special Report on Education – OIC Media Observatory for Israeli Crimes against Palestinians —– Gaza Students are Unable to Access Education due to the Ongoing Bombardment of their Schools, Which also Serves as Shelters: https://t.co/1r8oQqpRn2 pic.twitter.com/eWKS3K5Dov
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) October 10, 2024
It observed that during the specified period, 72 schools in the West Bank were subjected to vandalism, and 5 universities were forcefully entered by the Israeli occupying forces, leading to restrictions and interference with their academic activities.
Additionally, the Israeli occupation forces, in collaboration with settlers, persist in obstructing access to schools in several Palestinian towns and villages, thereby targeting school students.
