Israel’s war on education: Gaza’s students grapple with an uncertain future

Gaza (Quds News Network) – For Dina Adwan, a 21-year-old student, the hope of completing her studies and obtaining a university degree this year has all but vanished amid the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza for the fourth consecutive month.

The war has targeted everything, including educational facilities and personnel, resulting in loss of life, injuries, and tremendous destruction.

For weeks, Dina, who was on the verge of graduation in Applied Information Technology from Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City – one of the universities devastated by Israeli airstrikes – has been grappling with the uncertainty of her future.

Today, she describes herself as “more realistic” saying, “In this crazy war, all I hope for is the safety of myself, my family, and my loved ones.”

Dina, once a promising student, maintained self-study during the initial weeks of the conflict. However, her aspirations crumbled as the possibility of resuming studies became remote. She lamented, “We were supposed to be taking final exams these days for the first semester.”

When the war erupted on October 7, universities had just reopened their doors. Dina reflects, “The war has consumed a year of my life and shattered my future plans for higher education. But I consider myself fortunate to be alive, as many of my university colleagues and friends have been killed. Even the dean of our college, Khaled Sharif, was martyred along with his entire family.”

Dina, who excelled among her peers, had aspirations of securing an excellence scholarship, becoming a teaching assistant at the university, and eventually applying for a scholarship from the Turkish government, following in the footsteps of her elder sister, Ahd.

“All of that is now on hold, but for how long? No one knows. This war seems endless, and our educational future is uncertain. We no longer think beyond survival,” she adds.

Dark outlook

Ahmed Lafi, the director of education in Rafah city, shares his concerns about the future of education in the war-torn enclave, emphasizing the bleak picture. “No one can predict the future of this educational process until the war completely ceases, and even then, the aftermath is unpredictable.”

Lafi highlights the difficulties faced by students preparing for unified exams across Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. He believes that students who only attended school for one month are facing an unknown future.

The danger extends to high school students who have barely had a month of in-person learning. Lafi sees the scenarios available to salvage the educational process, including e-learning, as extremely complex given the extensive destruction of homes, power shortages, and the deterioration of communication services and the internet.

Systematic targeting

According to the Ministry of Education, 4,327 students have been martyred, 7,819 injured, 231 teachers and administrators martyred, and 756 injured as of last Saturday morning. Additionally, 281 government schools and 65 UNRWA schools have faced total or partial destruction.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has documented Israel’s intentional targeting of 90% of government school buildings, resulting in direct and indirect damage. Moreover, 133 government schools are being used as shelters.

UNRWA reports that 151 of its employees have been martyred since the start of the war, and 1.9 million displaced individuals reside in 154 UNRWA-affiliated shelters, the majority of which are schools.

The targeting of education in Gaza, with its personnel, facilities, and infrastructure at its core, is categorized by human rights organizations as systematic targeting.

Rami Abdo, the head of the Euro-Med Monitor, notes that the targeted academicians are spread across various fields of knowledge, representing academic hubs in Gaza’s universities. The destruction is estimated to take years for universities to resume studies in a completely devastated environment.

The Monitor’s documentation confirms that the Israeli army is committing systematic and widespread destruction of all universities and stages.

Deliberate destruction

The first phase of the attacks targeted buildings at the Islamic University and Al-Azhar University, extending to other universities. Some were converted into military barracks and later demolished after being transformed into temporary detention centers, as seen in the case of the Islamic University in southern Gaza City.

A video, published by Israeli media on January 17, documented the university’s demolition after 70 days of being converted into a military base and temporary detention center.

Rami Abdo asserts that Israel’s extensive and intentional destruction of cultural and historical assets, such as universities, schools, libraries, and archival centers, aligns with its public policy to make Gaza “uninhabitable” and create a coercive environment devoid of basic life services, potentially forcing its residents towards emigration.

Salah Abdel Ati, the head of the International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR), states that the Israeli war has deprived around 608,000 students of their right to school education and halted the academic progress of 90,000 university students.

ICSPR’s statistics indicate that more than 4,000 students, including 438 university students, have been martyred, with thousands more injured. According to the International Monetary Fund, losses in the education sector due to destruction exceed $720 million, affecting 70% of schools and universities.

Abdel Ati adds that the Israeli targeting of education affected nearly 395 educational buildings, including all university buildings and headquarters that suffered total or partial destruction. This also includes the destruction of cultural facilities, libraries, and printing presses.

He agrees with the head of the Euro-Mid Monitor that Israel’s goal behind this is “to impoverish and make Gaza an uninhabitable area, pushing its residents towards migration, by destroying the infrastructure, educational institutions, health facilities, and all aspects of life.”