Report: Universities and Academic Life in Gaza Systematically Targeted
A new report published by Friends of Palestinian Universities has revealed that Gaza’s higher education sector has been systematically destroyed since October 2023. The report, titled Scholasticide in Gaza: The Systematic Destruction of Palestinian Higher Education and the Continuation of Collective Resilience, defines this destruction through the concept of “scholasticide.” In the report, this concept is explained not merely as damage to educational buildings, but as the targeting of universities, academic staff, archives, and cultural and intellectual life.
The report states that all 19 recognized higher education institutions in Gaza have been severely damaged or completely destroyed. According to UNESCO’s 2025 needs assessment, 38 campuses in Gaza were damaged; 22 of them were completely destroyed, while 14 sustained varying levels of damage. UNESCO estimated the physical damage to Gaza’s higher education infrastructure at US$373 million, while the April 2026 assessment by the World Bank, the European Union, and the United Nations calculated the damage across Gaza’s entire education sector at US$1.08 billion.
One of the most striking findings of the report concerns the human cost. Since October 2023, more than 1,372 university students and more than 246 academics and university staff have reportedly been killed. Among those killed were three university presidents and nine deans. According to the report, this destruction is not merely an indirect consequence of war, but a systematic strategy targeting Palestinian society’s capacity to produce knowledge and rebuild itself across generations. Despite this, the academic community in Gaza continues to show extraordinary “collective resilience” in sustaining teaching and research activities.