From Classrooms to Combat Zones: How Israel Crushed Gaza’s Education System
When Palestinians returned to their homes during a short, fragile truce, they didn’t find neighborhoods, they found ashes.
Schools that once offered shelter now stood scorched, bombed, and smeared with graffiti from Israeli soldiers. For many, these classrooms had been the last safe haven before tanks and gunfire drove them south. Now, they are ground zero in a war not just on people, but on the future.
In Gaza City and the north, displaced families used Google Maps to locate the rubble of what were once homes. Most found only dust and debris. The same fate met the schools. These sites, long considered civilian sanctuaries, were systematically turned into military outposts, detention centers before their destruction.
Quds News Network obtained dozens of photos and videos showing the destruction of Gaza’s education infrastructure. The images reveal bombed classrooms, tanks parked in schoolyards, and soldiers celebrating inside once-busy learning spaces. These visuals confirm the targeted nature of Israel’s military operations against Gaza’s schools.
Educational Genocide
Over 95% of Gaza’s 564 school buildings have been damaged since October 2023, according to the Education Ministry and UNICEF. Nearly 88% need full reconstruction or major repairs. As of April 2025, at least 85% of schools remain completely out of service.
“The Israeli genocide caused an unparalleled educational catastrophe in the Gaza Strip,” said Ahmed Al-Najjar, Director-General of Public Relations at Gaza’s Ministry of Education, in a statement to Anadolu.
Speaking to Quds News Network, Dr. Ayman Halaseh, a professor of international law and director of the Information and Research Center at King Hussein Foundation in Jordan, states that “if the soldiers took over the school without military necessity, and it was not a legitimate target, this could constitute a war crime.” He emphasizes that It is well established that these acts are not isolated and symbolic, but in fact they are part of a plan and a part of a large-scale commission of war crimes. “They are a part of a pattern of unlawful conduct, including unlawful occupation, mistreatment of civilians, or looting, and they contribute to cumulative violations”, he stresses.
Gaza’s universities have not been spared either. Six universities have been bombed or leveled, including Al-Israa University, which was reportedly detonated after being used as an Israeli military base for weeks.
Classrooms Turned Military Outposts
Schools across Gaza — including UN-run, governmental, and private institutions — have been raided and militarized by the Israeli army. Satellite imagery and investigations by outlets like Bellingcat confirm tanks stationed in schoolyards and classrooms turned into barracks.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) documented how many schools, like Salah Al-Din School in Gaza City, were turned into detention and interrogation centers. In one Israeli journalist’s video tour of a militarized school, he described it as a forward operations base, complete with container offices and sniper positions.
“These actions violate every legal obligation under the Fourth Geneva Convention,” Dr. Halaseh explained. “Schools are protected civilian objects unless used for military purposes; as military outposts or weapon depots.”
War Crimes Committed at Schools
The Euro-Med Monitor documented scenes of Israeli snipers firing from classrooms, soldiers destroying school property, and photos showing boastful soldiers posing with graffiti and flags in destroyed classrooms.
In one case, 15 decomposing bodies were found in a school after the army withdrew — suspected victims of field executions.
No Education, No Future
According to the Gaza Media Office, Israel has bombed 1,166 educational establishments since the genocide began, including 927 schools, kindergartens, and universities. At least 6,500 students and 756 teachers have been killed, with tens of thousands more injured or missing.
More than 625,000 children have been denied access to education for over a year. UN experts have called this an “educational genocide” that threatens to erase an entire generation’s future.
The Euro-Med Monitor stressed that depriving children of education is not just a humanitarian crisis but a strategic blow to Gaza’s capacity to rebuild. “Even if the war stops tomorrow,” its statement said, “the lack of safe schools and psychological trauma will leave deep, long-term scars.”
The destruction is more than physical. It is cultural, psychological, and generational. Without urgent international intervention, the long-term cost may be irreversible — not just for Gaza, but for global justice.
The UK Foreign Secretary has urged Israel to “allow much more aid” into Gaza and to “open all routes and crossings immediately,” amid Israeli restrictions on aid.
As Gaza’s landscape turns into tents and rubble, Yasmin Abu Shammala, a displaced journalist, travels the old coastal road to confront the silence left by vanished schools, ruined cafés, and the memories buried beneath them.
“These actions violate every legal obligation under the Fourth Geneva Convention,” Dr. Halaseh explained. “Schools are protected civilian objects unless used for military purposes; as military outposts or weapon depots.”
The Euro-Med Monitor stressed that depriving children of education is not just a humanitarian crisis but a strategic blow to Gaza’s capacity to rebuild. “Even if the war stops tomorrow,” its statement said, “the lack of safe schools and psychological trauma will leave deep, long-term scars.”
The destruction is more than physical. It is cultural, psychological, and generational. Without urgent international intervention, the long-term cost may be irreversible — not just for Gaza, but for global justice.
