Which universities in Gaza has Israel destroyed?
The heavily damaged Islamic University in Gaza City on 15 February 2024
Middle East Eye reports on 15 May 2024:
Since Israel’s war on Gaza started on 7 October, all universities in the besieged enclave have either been damaged or destroyed in what human rights groups have called an “ongoing crime of genocide”.
Palestinian institutions which had each enrolled thousands of students have been flattened by Israeli air strikes. At least 95 university professors have been killed, of whom 68 held professor’s degrees, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
For Gaza’s 90,000 students, the future is now uncertain. For Gaza, and its education system, the devastation will last for decades.
These are the universities affected so far:
Islamic University of Gaza
Gaza’s oldest degree-awarding institution, the Islamic University of Gaza was founded in 1978 and held its first classes in tents. By 2023, it had more than 17,000 students. Israeli forces destroyed the campus on the night of 10 October after alleging that the university produced weapons. No proof of the allegations has been provided. It is not the first time the university has been hit by Israeli forces: it was damaged during air strikes in 2008-2009 and 2014.
Al-Israa University
Gaza’s youngest university, Al-Israa University was established in 2014. It was scheduled to mark its 10th anniversary this year with the opening of a public museum, highlighting Palestinian history and culture. Its main building was occupied for 70 days by Israeli soldiers and then destroyed by explosives on 17 January.
Al-Quds Open University
Al-Quds Open University was established by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1991, and was the first open learning institute in the Palestinian territories. At its peak, it had 60,000 students studying across 19 branches and centres throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, making it the biggest non-campus university in Palestine. Israeli forces turned university buildings into military barracks, before bombing the Gaza branch on 15 November.