Hamas: Israeli crimes against education will not break Palestinians’ will in Gaza
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) affirmed today, Monday, that the Israeli enemy’s crimes against education will not succeed in breaking the will of the Palestinian people in Gaza or affecting their deeply rooted awareness and commitment to their rights.
The movement called for effective international action to hold Israel accountable and to stop its aggression against the Gaza Strip.
In a press statement received by the Yemen News Agency (SABA), Hamas said: “The start of the new school year in the West Bank and occupied Al-Quds for the third consecutive year without Gaza takes place against the backdrop of ongoing crimes of extermination, bombing, destruction, starvation, displacement, and forced migration that have continued for more than 22 months.”
The statement highlighted that the Israeli enemy has deprived more than 785,000 students of their right to education, while over 19,000 students have been killed and approximately 29,000 others injured.
Additionally, more than 1,000 teachers and administrative staff have been killed, around 5,000 injured in Gaza and the West Bank, over 230 academics killed, and more than 1,420 injured.
Hamas stated that “the Israeli enemy deliberately destroyed all elements of the education system by targeting more than 90% of school and university buildings in Gaza. No safe place remains to continue the educational process. Its barbaric aggression has led to the erasure of 25 schools, along with their students and teachers, from the educational record.”
The movement paid tribute to the martyrs of this ongoing Zionist war against Palestine’s educational system—including students, teachers, professors, and administrators—and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
The statement stressed that “the enemy’s systematic and deliberate crimes against the education system constitute a blatant violation of international laws, norms, and conventions, all of which guarantee our people’s right to education.”
Hamas called on the international community to fulfill its legal, humanitarian, and moral responsibilities to put an end to these crimes and ensure that the Palestinian people enjoy all their legitimate rights.
The movement viewed the Israeli enemy’s criminal policy of destroying educational infrastructure and targeting Palestinian talent and expertise as a desperate attempt that will fail to erase the national identity deeply rooted among the Palestinian people.
Hamas also urged the unification of national efforts to confront Israeli schemes and stop its crimes, particularly the escalating attempts to impose Israeli curricula in occupied Al-Quds and target educational institutions there, emphasizing that “this Zionist crime aims to enforce control over our people and erase their Jerusalemite identity.”
The statement asserted that “no matter how strong the enemy’s fascist government or aggressive crimes may be, it cannot impose a policy of ignorance on our people or manipulate their firm awareness by destroying our education system. Our great people and their living forces will confront all challenges and thwart every Zionist scheme.”
In conclusion, Hamas praised the efforts and sacrifices of teachers, students, and educational institutions in Gaza for resisting Israeli plans and aggression aimed at undermining their resilience and breaking their will. The movement commended their courageous initiatives to continue educating Gaza’s children and emphasized the role of the educational system in instilling values of love for the land and the holy sites, and defending them.
Hamas renewed its call to the international community and academic organizations worldwide to take effective action to hold Israel accountable, stop its crimes and aggression against the Palestinian people, and prevent attacks on the education system. The movement also called for strengthening the academic boycott of Zionist institutions involved in Israeli crimes and aggression