Press Releases
Since the beginning of the genocide, Israel has aimed at destroying all means of life in the Gaza Strip, including through systematically targeting schools and other educational institutions. As the back-to-school season approaches, it is a grim reminder that Israel has killed and injured tens of thousands of children, and almost completely decimated the education system in the Gaza Strip. For the past 11 months, not only has Israel completely denied Palestinian children their right to education, but also almost obliterated the capacity for education now and for the foreseeable future. UNRWA and the Education Ministry in the Strip are setting up education initiatives for Palestinian children in Gaza; initiatives that should be applauded and funded without reservation.
Israel’s ongoing genocide has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinians killed, including more than 16,400 children. As a vulnerable subset that makes up almost 50 percent of the population, children are disproportionately impacted by the genocide. Palestinian children continue to experience serious mental and bodily harm, some having lost their parents, had their limbs amputated, and are facing starvation and disease.
According to OCHA, over 85 percent of all schools are destroyed or damaged, and 402 educational staff and 9,565 students have been killed. Israel’s attacks on the education system have left around 625,000 students unable to continue their studies. Additionally, around 40,000 students have been deprived of taking their high school certification examinations.
UNRWA, which has long played a major role in providing education in Gaza and faces an ongoing delegitimization and demonization campaign at the hands of Israel, has had its facilities in Gaza relentlessly and deliberately attacked by Israel. Since the beginning of the genocide, 70 percent of UNRWA schools in Gaza, many of which are used as shelters by internally displaced persons, have been targeted and bombed by Israeli forces.
Despite Israel’s persistent attempts to disrupt education in Gaza, both UNRWA and the government in Gaza have taken steps to assist the re-commencement of education services and activities. The Education Ministry in the Strip has recently announced that “educational life will return” through e-learning in displacement tents, and that high school examinations will also be offered.
“[T]o help children cope and just be children,” UNRWA has launched its “Back to Learning” initiative, consisting of two phases. The first phase entails the expansion of the Agency’s psychosocial support activities, “as well as raising awareness on the risks of explosive ordnance.” The initiative's second phase consists of learning activities, including reading, writing and math lessons. UNRWA has called on governments, the private sector, individuals, and other donors to fund and support its education program.
UNRWA’s “Back to Learning” initiative is a direct form of struggle against Israel’s aim to annihilate all means of life in Gaza and destroy future generations of Palesestinians there. Funding this initiative is important in standing firm against Israel's ongoing campaign against UNRWA, but also in attaining the larger goals of rebuilding the education system in Gaza and empowering and protecting the most vulnerable group in Gaza. For states and the private sector, it is an ethical and moral obligation to ensure Palestinians receive the needed resources to reconstruct the educational sector, a vital and significant societal function, but more importantly, that the right to education is upheld and protected.