Research Dashboard · Gaza · October 2023 – Present
Scholasticide
in Palestine
The deliberate, systematic destruction of educational institutions, intellectual infrastructure, and the cultural foundations of a people under occupation. Coined by Dr. Karma Nabulsi (2009).
Data sourced from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, World Bank/EU/UN Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, Amnesty International, and the oPt Education Cluster. Scroll to explore.
Human toll — October 2023 to March 2026
Infrastructure destruction
oPt Education Cluster, Jul 2025
oPt Education Cluster, Jul 2025
oPt Education Cluster, Jul 2025
oPt Education Cluster, Jul 2025
students out of formal schooling for more than two years
World Bank/EU/UN RDNA, April 2026
North Gaza
Rafah
Khan Younis
universities destroyed
cultural heritage sites damaged (UNESCO)
Casualties by category
Source: Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, March 2026. Red = killed · Orange = injured.
These figures are not incidental losses sustained in the course of a military campaign — they represent the systematic dismantling of Gaza's knowledge infrastructure at the human level.
Teachers, academics, and researchers are not combatants. Their deaths, documented across multiple independent sources, point to a pattern of targeting that extends to the people responsible for transmitting knowledge and sustaining institutions.
— Elbanna, 2026 (drawing on Euro-Med Monitor 2026)
Escalation over time
One key indication that scholasticide is systematic rather than incidental is that Palestinian educational institutions had been bombed, raided, defunded, and severely restricted long before October 7, 2023.
Since October 2023, the scale has intensified to near-total collapse. By July 2025, 97% of school buildings were damaged — and reconstruction has been systematically blocked.
Actor-Network: the scholasticide system
Scholasticide is not a single act but a system. This diagram maps the relationships between perpetrating forces, targeted institutions, victims, international systems, and forms of resistance. Hover any node to highlight its connections.
Scenario modeling: what would it take?
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor (2026) documents that Israeli authorities have actively prevented reconstruction — blocking entry of materials, equipment, and resources needed to rebuild schools and universities.
This modeling panel estimates how many students could return to formal schooling under different intervention scenarios. These are estimates based on the oPt Education Cluster and RDNA 2026 data.
What cannot be restored
- • 18,911 schoolchildren killed
- • 794 teachers and 246 faculty killed
- • 130,000+ archival documents destroyed
- • 69 cultural heritage sites damaged
- • 77-year human development setback (RDNA 2026)
Destruction log
View all →Israel systematically blocks reconstruction of educational infrastructure
Burning of the Central Library, Islamic University of Gaza
Islamic University of Gaza · Gaza City
"Photograph verified as Central Library of the Islamic University of Gaza via independent geolocation."
Soldier mocks foreclosed educational futures of Gaza students
Al-Azhar University (Al-Mughraqa Campus) · Gaza City
"This way you won't be engineers any more."
Controlled demolition of Israa University (Al-Zahra campus)
Israa University (Al-Zahra Campus) · Gaza City
Historical context: scholasticide is not new
The systematic destruction of Palestinian education predates October 2023 by decades. Understanding this history is essential to recognizing the current destruction as structural, not incidental.
Dispossession and Educational Disruption after the Nakba
The Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948 displaced over 700,000 Palestinians, severing them from their educational institutions. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) was established in 1949 and created a network of schools in refugee camps across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria — institutionalizing Palestinian education in exile.
Occupation and Control of Educational Systems
Following Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank in 1967, Palestinian universities and schools came under military administration. Universities faced repeated closures, raids, and curriculum restrictions. All Palestinian universities were shut for four years during the First Intifada (1987–1991). Education became a central site of political contestation and resistance.
Siege, Fragmentation, and Repeated Destruction
Following the Second Intifada and the 2007 blockade of Gaza, Israel imposed comprehensive restrictions that severely limited educational resources, movement of students and faculty, and import of materials. Gaza's educational infrastructure endured repeated cycles of bombing in 2008–09, 2012, 2014, and 2021. Dr. Karma Nabulsi coined the term 'scholasticide' in response to the 2008–09 bombings.
Totalizing Destruction of Educational Infrastructure
Since October 7, 2023, the scale of educational destruction in Gaza has been unprecedented. Every university has been destroyed or severely damaged. By July 2025, 97% of school buildings had sustained damage, with 76.6% sustaining direct hits. Over 728,000 students have been out of school for more than two years. Controlled demolitions, library burnings, archive destruction, and systematic obstruction of reconstruction constitute what multiple human rights organizations have characterized as scholasticide.
Interactive Map
Geographic distribution of destroyed institutions across Gaza's five districts
Destruction Log
All documented acts of destruction, searchable and filterable by type, date, and institution
Sources & Bibliography
Complete citations for all data, human rights reports, and academic references