For the third year without education.. "Educational genocide" by Israel against Gaza students

Most countries around the world are witnessing the beginning of the new school year these days, while the ongoing Israeli genocide since October 7, 2023, is depriving students in the Gaza Strip of education for the third consecutive year.

Schools in Gaza have become devoid of desks and classrooms, turning into shelters for forcibly displaced individuals or piles of rubble, resulting in approximately 785,000 students being deprived of education.

The 9-year-old girl, Jouri Mahna, from Gaza City, keeps a box of colored pencils in her small bag, even though she hasn't used them for over two years. Jouri flips through the pages of an old notebook and draws her dreams of life returning to school desks.

While sitting next to her mother, she said, 'I miss my school and my friends... I want to write on the board again.' Her mother is trying to compensate for this interruption by enrolling her daughter in an electronic education system launched by the Ministry of Education in Gaza.

However, she faces a harsh reality characterized by repeated forced displacement, power outages, and weak internet, under the pressure of ongoing Israeli bombardment as part of the genocide.

On August 13, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated that one million children in Gaza are deprived of education and suffering from deep psychological trauma.

With American support, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop.

The genocide has resulted in 63,633 deaths and 160,914 injuries among Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, over 9,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The deprivation of education is not limited to children only but extends to all students in their primary, secondary, and university stages.

Mahmoud Abu Daf (18 years old) was about to complete his secondary education and enroll in university, but the Israeli war completely destroyed his educational life.

The Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Ismail Al-Thawabteh, said that 'the Israeli occupation is depriving approximately 785,000 students from studying for the third consecutive year.'

He added: 'It is also depriving 25,000 teachers of their basic right to education, in a systematic crime that amounts to cultural and educational genocide.'

Al-Thawabteh attributed the current situation to the widespread destruction of educational infrastructure due to the ongoing aggression.

He added that the material damages have affected more than 95 percent of schools in the Gaza Strip, while more than 90 percent of school buildings need complete reconstruction or rehabilitation.

He reported that Israel has directly targeted 662 school buildings, which is about 80 percent of the total schools.

Meanwhile, 116 other schools were classified as damaged, which has led to approximately 140,000 additional students being deprived of attending school.

He further stated that the Israeli war has completely destroyed 163 schools, universities, and educational institutions, and partially damaged 388 other institutions.

He confirmed that these practices represent 'a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees the right to education and protection in times of conflict.'

Al-Thawabteh emphasized that what is happening in Gaza is not just collateral damage of war, but 'a deliberate destruction of the fundamental pillars of civil life.'