A new assessment by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that more than 76 percent of Gaza’s schools need to undergo “full reconstruction or major reconstruction” in order to be functional following Israel’s months-long offensive, according to the report.
In its new Education Cluster assessment, based on satellite imagery collected in May, the CEA has found that schools in the besieged and bombarded areas continue to suffer from an increased rate of direct attacks.
It was reported that 69 percent of the schools that serve as homeless shelters in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged in incidents that have been launched by the Israeli military, and that more than 96% of the schools that have been directly attacked – 296 schools in total – are located in areas that have been ordered evacuated by the military.
Talal al-Hathal, director of the Al Fakhoura Program at Education Above All Foundation in Qatar, said that the Israeli attacks on Gaza’s educational institutes have not only disrupted immediate educational activities but have also eroded the foundation for sustained social development and growth.
According to al-Hathal, “targeting the important infrastructure of education in Gaza destroys hope for many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where education has become an essential tool for Palestinians to survive and to achieve equality, enabling them to pursue better life outcomes for themselves in the future,” he said.
In a region such as this one, education is essential for survival, empowerment, and long-term growth, providing a basis for more stability and prosperity on the horizon.
The aggressors, by intimidating educational institutions, strip away the chances of enlightenment and opportunity, as well as the possibility of progress and development, deepening the cycle of despair and deprivation in the region.
There are an estimated 620,000 students unable to attend school in Gaza due to a combination of damage and destruction caused by war since April, according to UNICEF, the UN children’s agency. Almost half of Gaza’s population is under the age of 18, and as a result of several wars and escalations during the period 2008-2009, Gaza’s education system was already struggling.
There is nothing more important than being in a safe space if you want to learn new things. According to Audrey McMahon of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), many of the children who are in Gaza at the moment are suffering from brain damage as a result of trauma. Those who are malnourished at a young age may develop lifelong cognitive disabilities, while teenagers are likely to feel anger at the injustices they have suffered as a result of their nutrition, according to her.
There are going to be tremendous challenges faced by them, which will take a long time for them to overcome.”
It is shameful that educational institutes have been targeted in Gaza, according to Al-Hathal, considering that there is a crisis in global education and that over 250 million children are not attending school around the world.
There has also been a death toll of thousands of students and teachers, in addition to the destruction of buildings, in the attacks that have been ravaging schools and have left thousands of students with mental trauma in the aftermath of the attacks.
‘The war has undoubtedly left educational institutions in Gaza in a worse state than before the war, with fewer access points to critical infrastructure and decreased stability of the education process as a result,’ mentioned Al-Hathal.
The Gaza war has exacerbated the plight of the educational sector in Gaza as over 400 school buildings have been damaged in the area. It is also important to note that the damage caused by the internal displacement has only been exacerbated by the fact that these schools are now being used as shelters, hosting nearly four times their intended capacity, further burdening an already overstretched educational infrastructure.
Schools are not the only institutions that have been hit by the Israeli onslaught, as there are many others. University campuses, colleges and other centres of higher education have been completely paralysed since the earthquake.
A video released by Israeli media in January, which shows the destruction of Israa University, located in the south of Gaza city, demonstrates the extent to which Israeli forces demolished the university. Earlier this month, the campus was destroyed by Israeli forces after months of occupation and use as a military base and detention facility by Israel.
There are a number of initiatives that can be used to aid students and teachers in Gaza to overcome the current challenges, which include community partnerships, mental health support, technology assistance, and educational advocacy, according to Al-Hathal.
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