Toll on Gaza teachers

There can be few greater indictments of a state's brutality than the killing of those whose only duty is to educate children. Yet this is precisely the horror that has unfolded in Palestine, where Israel's relentless military campaign has not only claimed countless innocent lives but also devastated an entire education system. According to the Palestinian Education Ministry, at least 800 teachers have been killed, over 3,300 injured and over 170 detained since October 2023. These figures should shame the conscience of a world that has repeatedly watched Israeli atrocities unfold while offering little beyond hollow condemnations.

The sheer scale of devastation is staggering. UNICEF estimates that 97.5% of Gaza's schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving an entire generation struggling to access education. Classrooms have been reduced to rubble and teachers forced to conduct lessons in makeshift shelters. This represent an intolerable assault on the foundations of Palestinian society. No military objective can justify the wholesale devastation of an education system. Schools and teachers are entitled to protection, and attacks on civilians cannot be legitimised through sweeping claims of military necessity. The destruction inflicted on Gaza has long surpassed anything that can be morally defended as a proportionate response to a security threat. Nor is this assault on education confined to Gaza. Across the occupied West Bank, Palestinian teachers face military checkpoints, restrictions on movement and the threat of violence. Schools remain vulnerable to demolition, while the withholding of Palestinian revenues has deepened the financial hardship facing educators.

The killing of Palestinian teachers demands far more than another resolution or expression of concern. Those responsible for unlawful attacks must face independent investigation and prosecution. Governments must end the supply of weapons used in violations of international humanitarian law, while international institutions must secure protection for educators and urgently support the restoration of Palestinian schools.