Ramallah, Oct. 7 (Petra) – More than 20,500 school and university students have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since October 7, 2023, while hundreds more were killed, injured, or detained in the West Bank, according to a three-year report issued Wednesday by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

The report, covering the period through October 7, 2026, documented the Israeli violations against the Palestinian education sector during three years of genocide against the Strip.

In Gaza, the ministry said more than 19,189 school students and 1,386 university students were killed, while 28,586 school students and 3,082 university students were injured.

In the West Bank, 134 school students and 39 university students were killed, while 871 school students and 283 university students were injured. Israeli forces also detained 416 school students and 481 university students, according to the report.

Among education and administrative staff in Gaza, 805 school employees and 246 university lecturers and staff were killed. Another 3,298 school employees and 1,493 university staff members were injured.

In the West Bank, seven school staff members were killed and 26 were injured, while Israeli forces detained more than 176 teachers and school employees and 21 university staff members, the ministry said.

The report also documented extensive damage to educational facilities in Gaza, saying more than 179 government schools were completely destroyed, while more than 105 schools operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and destroyed. More than 63 university buildings were also completely destroyed.

To maintain access to education, 700 learning centers were established across Gaza and 12 virtual schools were created for students inside and outside the Palestinian territories, the ministry added.

In the West Bank, the ministry said Israeli authorities issued a final demolition order for Janba School south of Hebron and closed four schools in Hebron’s Old City for several days.

It also said Israeli authorities withheld permits from teachers working at private schools in occupied East Jerusalem, hindering access to their workplaces, and continued raids on Palestinian universities, most recently at Birzeit University.

//Petra// AO