Israel has bombed at least 18 schools in five weeks

In little over a month, Israel has bombed at least 18 schools in Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinian people.

On 5 August, in strikes on two United Nations-run schools – the Hassan Salama and al-Nasr in Gaza City – 80% of the victims were children. This is a feature of Israel’s assault, where Israel has killed 16,456 children so far.

A particularly deadly strike on al-Tabin school in Gaza City on 10 August killed over 100 people. According to Palestinian civil defence, every body found was torn apart.

On social media, people analysed the carnage brought upon civilians, compared to Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 31 July.

Read this sentence, then read it again.

Israel has shown it’s capable of precision strikes for assassinations, but when targeting a school they know is full of civilians the weapons used are so powerful that not a single body is left intact. Children’s bodies torn to shreds. https://t.co/CaYpMZ6oVL

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) August 11, 2024

Palestine’s education ministry reported that, as of 6 August, Israel had killed around 10,043 Palestinian students since 7 October. It said Israel killed a further 504 teachers and administrators.

On 3 August, Israel bombed the university of applied sciences in Gaza City, reportedly entirely obliterating campus buildings. It has destroyed or damaged all 12 universities in Gaza.

Israel: committing “scholasticide”

25 UN human rights experts expressed grave concern back in April:

With more than 80% of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, it may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide’

The experts also pointed to the damaging or destruction of libraries, heritage sites, and the Central Archives of Gaza. They said:

The foundations of Palestinian society are being reduced to rubble, and their history is being erased

Despite Israel’s occupation, UN-run schools for Palestinian refugees have helped deliver one of the highest literacy rates in the world for Palestine.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in January that Israel “has targeted academic, scientific, and intellectual figures in the Strip in deliberate and specific air raids on their homes without prior notice”.

In October, teenager Shaimaa Saydam was among those Israeli forces killed in strikes. She was the highest performing Palestinian high school student of 2023.

Responding to the attacks on schools, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said:

Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood at a time, one hospital at a time, one school at a time, one refugee camp at a time, one ‘safe zone’ at a time, with US and European weapons.

Featured image via ABC News – YouTube