More than 18,000 students have been martyred and hundreds of schools and universities destroyed since the start of the genocide

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced on Tuesday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023, has reached 18,651 student martyrs and 29,114 injured in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The ministry said in its statement, “The number of martyred students in the Gaza Strip alone exceeded 18,508, while 28,142 were injured with varying degrees of injury, while in the West Bank, 143 students were killed and 972 others were injured, in addition to 792 students being arrested.”

The ministry indicated that 972 teachers and administrators were killed in Gaza and the West Bank, 4,538 were injured, and more than 199 were arrested in the West Bank. Regarding educational facilities, the ministry explained that the aggression led to the complete destruction of 172 government schools in the Gaza Strip, and 63 university buildings, in addition to the bombing and vandalism of 118 government schools and more than 100 UNRWA schools.

The statement confirmed that the occupation had completely removed 25 schools, along with their students and teachers, from the educational register, while acts of sabotage in the West Bank affected 152 schools and 8 universities and colleges were stormed and vandalized.

The ministry noted that the school year remains postponed due to the stifling financial crisis resulting from the occupation’s continued seizure of clearance funds, exacerbating the humanitarian and educational catastrophe for the Palestinian people.