CrossFireArabia
The Ministry of Education in the Gaza Strip announced, Wednesday, the genocide committed by Israel over the course of more than 15 months resulted in the killing and disappearance of more than 15,000 Palestinian school-age children, and the targeting of 95 percent of school and educational buildings.
The ministry said in a statement: “Initial statistics indicate the martyrdom and disappearance of more than 15,000 school-age children, more than 800 education sector workers, and the injury of 50,000 male and female students.”
It added: “The horrific number of martyrs is equivalent to a mass extermination of human elements, students and workers in more than 30 schools, which reflects the extent of the crimes committed against children and educational staff.”
It explained that the genocide resulted in the killing of 1,200 male and female students enrolled in higher education institutions, more than 150 scientists, academics and workers in those institutions, and hundreds were injured and disabled.
The ministry confirmed that 95 percent of school and educational buildings were directly damaged, while 85 percent of them were completely or partially out of service due to their destruction.
It indicated that the Israeli army destroyed more than 140 administrative and academic facilities, including devices, equipment, laboratories, clinics and libraries.
The ministry estimated losses of the education sector at more than $3 billion.
It explained thousands of children were exposed to shocking experiences and unprecedented psychological pressures, which led to the emergence of psychological symptoms and trauma that require specialized interventions.
The ministry announced the completion of emergency response plans for the next stage, which includes completing the 2023/2024 school year and opening the 2024/2025 school year.
The ministry called on media outlets and human rights institutions to document the “Israeli crimes” against children and depriving them of their right to education, and to prosecute Tel Aviv before international bodies and courts.
It also appealed to supporting bodies and partner institutions to provide urgent and necessary support to relieve and rehabilitate the educational sector.
With American support, Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025, leaving more than 158,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.
Last Sunday, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect, and its first phase will last for 42 days, during which negotiations will begin to start a second and then a third phase, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Israel has turned Gaza into the largest prison in the world, as it has besieged it for the last 18 years, and the genocide has forced about two million of its citizens, numbering about 2.3 million Palestinians, to flee in tragic conditions with a deliberate severe shortage of food, water and medicine.
