GAZA, (PIC)
An international campaign has confirmed that Israel has assassinated 100 Palestinian scholars and academics, as well as 500 university students, since October 7th during its aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The International Academic Campaign against Israeli Occupation and Apartheid said in a press release that the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza has disrupted academic life in universities, colleges, institutes, schools, and educational institutions of various types.
It pointed out that the entire academic process has been paralyzed in 19 higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip, depriving more than 88,000 students of receiving education since the start of the aggression in October.
The campaign mentioned that more than 550 students from Gaza were unable to join foreign scholarships at universities due to the occupation’s procedures and their inability to travel, depriving them of the opportunity for higher education. Additionally, nearly 1,000 students from Gaza studying at universities and graduate schools in 18 countries worldwide are facing increased suffering and pressures.
The campaign confirmed that, in addition to the large number of martyrs who have not been finally documented, there is a multiple increase in the number of injuries among academics and university students.
According to the statement, the occupation army deliberately targeted and destroyed the buildings and facilities of Palestinian universities and academic institutions in the Gaza Strip. The number of damaged academic buildings exceeded 15, including Al-Azhar University, the Islamic University, Al-Quds Open University, and Palestine University.
The campaign also highlighted the targeting of the main building, facilities, and utilities of Al-Isra University by blowing up the graduate studies building and the main undergraduate colleges south of Gaza City. The national museum at the university, which housed over three thousand rare archaeological artifacts, was also targeted.
The Israeli occupation also destroyed the buildings of the first and only university hospital in Gaza and the second in Palestine, as well as the buildings of medical, engineering, and nursing laboratories.
The campaign pointed out that the occupation army also targeted other university campuses through bombing and looting, including the headquarters of the intermediate studies (diploma) located in northern Gaza and the headquarters of continuing education and vocational training located in the Al-Rimal neighborhood.
It recalled that the occupation forces took control of and stationed in the building of Al-Isra University for a period of seventy days, turning it into a military base and a temporary detention center for investigation and persecution of Palestinians before transferring them to other locations.
The campaign called on educational organizations, academic institutions, and universities around the world to act swiftly to save Palestinian academic institutions and their staff from the deliberate and systematic killing and destruction carried out by the Israeli occupation forces through the bombing and targeting of university buildings, colleges, and institutes, in light of the increasing spate of destruction, killing, and targeting.
It appealed to all international institutions, organizations, and unions of workers in academic institutions to stand against Israel’s crimes, which continues to target and kill dozens of academic lecturers and administrative staff.
The campaign concluded that Israel aims to eliminate scientific, literary, and academic competencies, leaving a significant impact on Palestinian society, especially among those with rare specialties who leave a significant void that is difficult to fill without years of training and qualification.
In its report, the International Academic Campaign presented the names of some of these martyrs, including scientists and academic personnel who were killed in Gaza. One of them is the prominent Palestinian physicist and president of the Islamic University in Gaza, Professor Sufian Abdul Rahman Tayeh, and nine members of his family. They were killed in an Israeli airstrike on December 2, 2023, targeting the town of Al-Faluja in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
Tayeh, 52 years old, was a Palestinian scientist holding a professorship in theoretical physics and applied mathematics. In 2021, he was classified by Stanford University as one of the top 2% of researchers worldwide.
Sufian Tayeh previously received the “Abdul Hameed Shoman Award” for scientific research in November 2021, in addition to his appointment as the holder of the UNESCO Chair in Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Palestine.
