As a result of Israeli attacks, more than 11,000 school children in Palestine were killed

Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/Children at a damaged school that is still a refugee camp for Gaza residents, October 24, 2024

The brutal Israeli attacks on Palestine since October 7, 2023 have resulted in more than 11,825 students being killed, according to a report by the Palestinian Ministry of Education on Tuesday (10/29/2024). The students who were killed were not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education revealed that in Gaza, the killing of school-age children reached 11,057 people and more than 16,897 others were injured. Among students, 681 people were killed and 1,468 others were injured, as reported by Anadolu Agency, Friday (11/1/2024).

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, 79 school students and 35 university students were killed, and hundreds of people were injured and detained by the two groups.

Teachers and Staff Killed and School Buildings Destroyed

In the Palestinian Ministry of Education report, the killings by Israeli attacks also targeted teachers and staff at educational institutions.

In Gaza, 441 teachers and school staff were killed and 2,491 others were injured. Then in the West Bank, two school staff were killed, 17 were injured, and 139 others were detained.

Meanwhile, at the higher education level, 117 academic staff members including lecturers in Gaza were confirmed dead.

In this condition, Israeli attacks have also damaged hundreds of educational infrastructure in Palestine. There are 406 schools in Gaza, 65 of which are managed by UNRWA, experiencing varying degrees of damage.

Of that number, 77 schools were completely destroyed. Then in the West Bank, 84 schools were damaged.

For higher education institutions in Gaza, 20 universities were reported to have suffered severe damage, 51 university buildings were completely destroyed and 57 were partially destroyed.

This is further exacerbated by the denial of access to students. The Ministry stated that 88,000 students and around 700,000 school children in Gaza have been denied access to their institutions.

Attack on Schools Used as Refugee Camps

For a year, Israel has continued to launch brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 43,000 people and injuring more than 101,200 others. Sadly, most of the victims are women and children.

Israeli attacks continue to attack even Palestinian refugee camps. Most recently, an attack destroyed a school used as a refugee camp and killed at least nine people.

According to information from the Gaza Civil Defense on Sunday (10/27), there was an attack on the Asma School in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City that injured several people.

"The Palestinian refugees who took refuge at the UN school came from Jabalia and other areas in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces imposed a devastating siege for four weeks," a paramedic in Gaza, Hussein Mohsen, told Al Jazeera, quoted on Friday (1/11/2024).

According to him, this is not the first time the Israeli occupation has targeted schools. Because, in recent months, Israeli forces have bombed several schools that have been turned into shelters, claiming that Palestinian fighters are operating there.

However, Israel has not provided evidence to support its claim.

The schools that house Palestinians that were attacked by Israel in September 2024 include:

- UNRWA Tulkarem Girls' Primary School in the West Bank which was besieged by the Israeli military on September 10

- Al-Kaabneh Arab Primary School which was attacked on September 16

- Martyr Izzat Abu Al-Rob Secondary School in the city of Qabatiya which was attacked on September 19

- Haris Boys' Secondary School in the West Bank was attacked on September 23

SOURCE: detik.com