Israel’s attacks have caused “unprecedented destruction” to Gaza’s education system, leaving hundreds of thousands of children without access to formal schooling and severely damaging educational infrastructure, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in its recent report.
The challenge of restarting formal education after the October 2025 ceasefire remained a big one, with more than 97 per cent of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, the report said. Some teachers had to write lessons on tent walls because there were no safe school buildings and educational materials, it said.
The report said by February 2025, over 668,000 school-aged children had been denied access to formal education, while over 335,000 children under the age of five were considered at risk of severe developmental delays due to the collapse of early childhood services. The report also noted that Gaza had one of the highest literacy rates in the world before the Israeli attacks in October 2023.
Although temporary learning initiatives have been introduced, they have been unable to replace formal education. The report noted that around 136,000 children were enrolled in 100 Temporary Learning Spaces established with UNICEF support, while nearly 60,000 children participated in learning and recreational activities across 75 UNRWA emergency shelters.
The Commission said that children in Gaza had missed three full academic years, resulting in serious learning losses. Parents interviewed by investigators said that many children had forgotten basic reading and writing skills, while some had given up their studies to help their families survive. The report featured the case of a 17-year-old student who had once been at the top of his class but was selling cigarettes, and another 15-year-old who repaired shoes instead of attending school.
Higher education has also suffered extensive damage. The report said more than 79 per cent of higher education campuses have been damaged or destroyed, disrupting education for approximately 88,000 university students. The Commission warned that the destruction of educational infrastructure could delay Gaza’s human development by 69 years and create a long-term “brain drain” by depriving an entire generation of education.
The report also highlighted the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where educational institutions have faced closures, demolition orders and attacks. It noted that Israeli authorities ordered the closure of six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem in April 2025 and later forced their evacuation, affecting around 800 students. As of October 2025, 85 schools serving approximately 13,000 students were facing demolition or stop-work orders.
The Commission documented repeated attacks on schools by Israeli settlers. The report said repeated settler attacks on the school and the village of Khirbet Zanuta forced 285 residents, including 120 children, to leave the village on October 28, 2023. Another attack targeted Al-Kaabneh Basic School near Jericho during school hours, where frightened children barricaded themselves inside a classroom. The school was later closed due to repeated violence and the displacement of the surrounding community.
Since October 2023, closures, displacement and restrictions have impacted some 806,000 students in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the report said. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, 109 schools were attacked or vandalised in 2024, 85 students and three teachers killed, 551 students and 18 education staff injured, and 149 arrested.
The Commission also observed that the proliferation of military checkpoints and movement restrictions has resulted in reduced school attendance, and that education has been disrupted across the northern West Bank by large-scale military operations and settler violence. As of September 2025, 10 UNRWA schools serving more than 4,000 children continued to be closed and schools in East Jerusalem were unable to reopen for the new academic year following Israeli closure orders.
In another part of the report, the Commission said that the widespread destruction of educational facilities has effectively dismantled Gaza’s education system. It stated that more than 97 per cent of schools have been damaged or destroyed, producing severe long-term consequences for Palestinian children and adolescents and undermining the cultural identity of the Palestinian people. The Commission said many schools that also served as shelters for displaced civilians were targeted, worsening displacement and humanitarian conditions.
Notably, the findings were published in the Commission’s report, “The Essence of Childhood Has Been Destroyed”: Israel’s Deliberate Targeting of Palestinian Children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Since 7 October 2023. The Commission is chaired by former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, Justice Srinivasan Muralidhar.
The Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021, to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel since April 13, 2021.
On the other hand, Israel rejected the latest report issued by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI), calling it a “propaganda piece” and accusing the body of bias against the country.
Also Read – Part 1: Israel Deliberately Targeted Palestinian Children, Amounting to Genocide, UN Inquiry Says
