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Palestinian Education Under Attack in Gaza: Restoration, Recovery, Rights and Responsibilities in and through Education [EN/AR]

Attachments

Introduction

“There is no ‘post’ because the trauma is repetitive and ongoing and continuous.”

“It is not overstating to say everyone is traumatised.”

Education has long been a cornerstone of pride and a fundamental value for Palestinian families. The work of UNRWA, the Occupied Palestinian Territory Ministry of Education, together with other partners, have played a pivotal role in safeguarding and advancing the right to education for all Palestinians.

The current war in Gaza has severely disrupted the education of all the 625,000 students and impacted the lives and livelihoods of the 22,564 teachers (Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster, 2024a). Between October 2023 and July 2024, almost all school buildings in Gaza have been either entirely or partially destroyed following Israeli military strikes (Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster, 2024b). As of August 2024, OCHA reports figures from the Ministry of Health that identify these attacks have killed over 40,000 Palestinians, including 10,627 children and 411 teachers (OCHA, 2024b).

Furthermore, these attacks have resulted in at least 94,000 Palestinians injured, including 15,394 students and 2,411 teachers (OCHA, 2024b) (Figure 1). Many more are unaccounted for. As of July 2024, nearly 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced, of which an estimated 1 million people have sought shelter in UNRWA installations, including schools, and in adjacent areas (UNRWA, 2024a). It is estimated that around half of those who are displaced are children (UNICEF, 2024). Many children and their families have continued to be displaced numerous times over the past 10 months.

The extent of the most recent damage and disruption to Gaza’s education system underscores the urgent need for attention to education in humanitarian frontline planning to restore education now, and to plan for the rebuilding of the education system as soon as there is a permanent ceasefire. It is important to note that the impact on education in Gaza is compounded by 17 years of blockade and recurrent attacks that precede the current war in Gaza (OCHA, 2022). This has compounded the devastating education effects on children, young people, teachers and communities, including as a result of direct hits on school buildings (Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster, 2024b). Therefore, restoring and rebuilding education needs to recognise how the severity of the current scale of destruction of the education system reinforces the compounding effects of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which the International Court of Justice found to be unlawful (International Court of Justice, 2024a).

The report underscores the need for the international community to stand up to its obligations. The education Sustainable Development Goal identifies the right to equitable, inclusive and quality education as a key element of development and reconstruction.
Education is a fundamental right just as much in times of peace as in times of emergencies and war, as set out in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Protecting and ensuring access to education during conflict is also enshrined in international humanitarian law with provisions on the right to education and education more generally, for example, the protection of students, education staff and educational facilities.

Protecting education from attack is vital to prevent harm to children, young people and teachers. General Assembly resolution 64/290 of 2010 urges United Nations (UN) Member States ‘to implement strategies and policies to ensure and support the realization of the right to education as an integral element of humanitarian assistance and humanitarian response’ (UN General Assembly, 2010).

UN Security Council Resolution 2601 (2021) further ‘calls on all parties to safeguard, protect, respect, and promote the right to education, including in armed conflict, and reaffirms its contribution to the achievement of peace and security, and emphasizes the invaluable role that education has for individuals and society including as life-saving safe spaces and acknowledges that providing and protecting as well as facilitating the continuation of education in armed conflict should remain a key priority for the international community’, and ‘urges [UN] Member States to develop effective measures to prevent and address attacks and threats of attacks against schools and education facilities, and, as appropriate.’ vi Attacks on schools are also one of the six grave violations against children identified and condemned by the UN Security Council.

The current war in Gaza is unlike any other war in recent times. Current understandings of protracted crises and wars have not encountered a context of multiple displacements, loss of life and injury, and the scale of destruction and damage to civilian infrastructure, including education spaces and learning opportunities as witnessed in Gaza. Post-war reconstruction will be more than “just” reconstructing buildings. It will have to centre the needs, views and aspirations of Palestinians in Gaza and empower them to take the lead in rebuilding their education system.

The war has severely disrupted educational opportunities, and has made Palestinian children and youth, and society, increasingly vulnerable to a range of risks, including disability and trauma. The lack of access to learning opportunities has an immediate impact, and a longer-term effect, even more so given the related damage and destruction of most university buildings. It is imperative for the international community to act now and with urgency to uphold the right to education for Palestinians. For this, it is vital to call for immediate humanitarian access as the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice state: ‘The State of Israel shall take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip’ (International Court of Justice, 2024b: para 4). More broadly, a permanent ceasefire and ultimately an end to decades of blockade and occupation are the only conditions that will enable education to thrive in Gaza in a normal environment.

A permanent ceasefire, in line with the International Court of Justice advisory opinion (International Court of Justice, 2024c), and an end to occupation, is required urgently as the right to equitable and quality education for Palestinians in Gaza cannot be deferred.
Concrete action for a permanent ceasefire must be accompanied by support for the small green shoots of education actions by Palestinian teachers, students and communities in Gaza that is currently taking place, supported by UNRWA, other UN and international agencies and local and international NGOs.

The report notes the trajectory of the impact of the current war on education and identifies actions that need to take place now to resume education in Gaza, and those that need to occur soon as part of a wider Palestine reconstruction effort. This report focuses on schools and school-aged children and young people while recognising that universities have also been heavily impacted. This report presents evidence-based analyses of the immediate and enduring effects of educational disruption, drawing from a comprehensive review of existing data and direct insights from interviews with knowledgeable officials and stakeholders on the ground. The report also offers a series of recommendations for the international community and donors, aimed at resuming equitable and quality teaching and learning in Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Nelson Mandela reminds us “The power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success. It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation.” Enabling Palestinians to exercise their rights, take pride in their identity, and make meaningful contributions to their society and the global community is an urgent task to keep alive hope and belief in a just society and future. Anything less makes all actors complicit in undermining the belief in the power of education to make this world a better, safer, just and more peaceful place.

Restoring and Recovering education, affirming education Rights, and taking collective Responsibility is the modest contribution that this report calls for from all actors to support the children and youth in Gaza.