Education in a time of genocide: scholasticide and the duty of humanitarians

For Palestinians, education is far more than just a service or sector to be preserved; it is a bearer of national memory and history, a foundation for development and recovery, and a vital safeguard for the continuity of identity, culture and knowledge production. Many Palestinians also consider education as a gateway to the outside world and an essential component of resisting the dominance of Israeli settler-colonialism. For them, it is an emancipatory weapon.

In the Gaza strip, education is undergoing unprecedented attack. Both the physical infrastructure and the human dimension of education are being destroyed. The systematic and deliberate targeting of schools, universities, libraries and cultural institutions forms part of a broader strategy aimed at destroying infrastructure while simultaneously dismantling the intellectual and social fabric of a people and their civic life. This phenomenon is known as scholasticide, and it demands urgent and sustained attention from the international humanitarian community.

In the case of humanitarian actors, they must move beyond traditional frameworks. Education has itself become a frontline in the midst of genocide. The destruction of learning spaces, the killing and displacement of students and educators, and the erasure of educational institutions are not collateral damage or unintended consequences. These are deliberate acts with grave implications for justice, post-conflict recovery, and long-term development. Israel is not only destroying the past and the present by targeting nearly all educational institutions in Gaza, but also killing its future.

This article examines how humanitarian actors should respond to scholasticide. It outlines the strategic, ethical and operational changes necessary to address the destruction of education. The article emphasises a justice-centred approach to reconstruction and recovery, the protection of education, and a firm insistence on legal and political accountability for attacks targeting educational institutions. It contributes to the growing conversation about Gaza’s future and rebuilding during and in the wake of genocide.

Understanding scholasticide in the middle of genocide

The term scholasticide was first introduced by Oxford academic and Palestinian scholar of the laws of war, Karma Nabulsi, during the 2008–2009 Israeli military operation on Gaza. She situated it within a broader continuum of Israeli colonial violence targeting Palestinian education, stretching from the 1948 Nakba, through the 1967 occupation, and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

For Nabulsi, scholasticide describes Israel’s systematic policy of dismantling education in Palestine as a strategy to suppress the long-standing Palestinian tradition of education as a form of resistance. In contexts of occupation and colonisation, education is more than learning; it nurtures critical thought, fosters dignity, and sustains aspirations for liberation. This explains why, as Nabulsi argues, the colonial regime regards Palestinian education as a threat and counters it with measures such as military checkpoints, imprisonment and limited movement that restrict intellectual life.

Her analysis resonates with genocide scholar Raphael Lemkin’s conceptualisation of genocide as encompassing the physical annihilation of a people and the deliberate destruction of their cultural, intellectual and social foundations. For Lemkin, this includes the systematic targeting of schools and other institutions essential to the survival and cohesion of national, ethnic, racial or religious communities.

The onslaught on education in Gaza serves genocidal aims by eliminating future leaders and professionals, fracturing social cohesion through the disruption of knowledge and culture, and inflicting lasting psychological trauma through the destruction of educational spaces that once offered safety, hope and growth.

Recognising scholasticide as an integral dimension of genocide is essential for humanitarian actors and policymakers. Education cannot be relegated to a secondary concern after physical survival or left solely to the sphere of post-war reconstruction. It must be understood as a frontline target of violence and therefore a critical site for protection, justice and the rebuilding of Palestinian society.

Setting the context: the devastating impact on education in Gaza

Firstly, there has been significant physical damage to the school education system in Gaza. Schools have suffered massive destruction since the beginning of the Israeli military operations in October 2023, with the vast majority of school buildings being bombed and damaged. According to UNICEF, as of the end of 2024, approximately 534 school buildings have been damaged, accounting for 94.7% of all school buildings.

The Israeli military campaign dismantled Gaza’s education sector and uprooted hundreds of thousands of learners and educators. Around 625,000 students have been left without access to education and 22,564 teachers have had their livelihoods disrupted. By August 2024, Israeli strikes killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, including 10,627 children and 411 educators, and injured at least 94,000, among them 15,394 students and 2,411 teachers. An estimated 1.9 million people were internally displaced, with nearly one million seeking refuge in United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine in the Near East (UNRWA) shelters and surrounding neighbourhoods. Many endured repeated displacement, with some forced to flee more than 10 times. UNRWA schools lost their educational function after being converted into shelters, and a significant number were bombed during military operations. This reflects the devastating loss of vital educational spaces.

Secondly, the damage extended beyond the school education system to encompass the entire higher education ecosystem and its members, including students, academic staff and administrators. Higher education institutions in Gaza include six traditional universities, five university colleges and six community colleges, most of which were damaged by Israeli military attacks. Among the institutions that were directly bombed are: Al-Azhar University, Al-Quds Open University, the Islamic University of Gaza, Al-Aqsa University, Gaza University, Al-Isra University, the University College of Applied Sciences, the University College of Science and Technology, the University of Palestine, Al-Hassan University, the Palestine College of Nursing, and the Palestine Technical College. Reports indicate that approximately 90,000 students have lost access to higher education since October 2023.

In addition, numerous cultural heritage sites, including libraries, archives and museums, have been damaged, destroyed or looted, dealing a severe blow to Palestinian collective memory and cultural identity. However, the targeting of Palestinian educational and cultural institutions did not begin with the 7 October attack; it is part of a systematic Israeli strategy to erase Palestinian knowledge and cultural infrastructure. Israel has a long history of deliberately attacking Palestinian spaces of knowledge and culture, not only by destroying institutions but also by assassinating Palestinian intellectuals and cultural and political leaders to cripple Palestinian intellectual and cultural creativity and break their will.

The human toll of genocide carries profound psychological and social consequences that directly undermine educational communities as well. Recent studies reveal widespread trauma among Gaza’s students and staff, with children displaying fear, anxiety and despair that impede their learning. University students face alarmingly high levels of depression, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder, while faculty struggle with chronic pressures and a lack of psychosocial support, depleting institutional resources and undermining overall productivity. Moreover, academics point out that the mental effects of frustration, pessimism and oppression are among the most harmful factors in conflict, affecting academic motivation and weakening the educational environment in general.

Reviving education after scholasticide: what can humanitarians do?

The destruction of education in Gaza imposes responsibility on humanitarian actors, and compels them to act in the following ways:

Delivering emergency educational support

In the wake of scholasticide, humanitarian agencies must provide rapid and effective educational interventions. This includes creating safe spaces for learning through temporary classrooms, mobile education units, and where possible, digital platforms.

These efforts must address both educational continuity and the psychosocial needs of children and youth traumatised by violence. Trauma-informed approaches, counselling services, and inclusive education programs are essential to help students recover and engage meaningfully with their education.

Distributing learning materials, supporting teacher training, and facilitating safe access to education for displaced and vulnerable populations are critical components of emergency educational support. Humanitarians must work closely with local communities to ensure interventions are culturally appropriate and responsive to specific needs.

Justice-centred reconstruction of education

If a final ceasefire is agreed upon, reconstruction must go beyond rebuilding physical structures. It requires a people-centred, justice-oriented approach that affirms Palestinian identity, culture and rights.

This approach emphasises:

• Involving local educators and communities in planning and decision-making to ensure ownership and relevance.
• Developing curricula that reflect the history, heritage and aspirations of Palestinians.
• Creating safe, inclusive spaces that support learning, expression and resilience.
• Prioritising the inclusion of women, children and marginalised groups in education recovery.
• Justice-centred reconstruction ensures that rebuilding education is part of a broader project of liberation and societal healing, not simply a technical exercise.

Advocacy for protection and prevention

Humanitarians must advocate for the protection of education in conflict zones. This includes pushing for recognition of scholasticide as a crime under international law and supporting global initiatives like the Safe Schools Declaration.

Advocacy should focus on:

• Encouraging states to uphold their legal obligations to protect education.
• Urging international bodies to establish accountability mechanisms for attacks on schools.
• Raising awareness about the consequences of scholasticide to mobilise public and political support.
• Engaging in humanitarian advocacy to amplify the voices of affected communities and help build international consensus for action.

Supporting local educational actors

Local educators, institutions and civil society groups in Gaza have long demonstrated resilience under blockade and repeated assaults, from developing e-learning platforms during the Covid-19 pandemic to creating makeshift classrooms in Al-Mawasi (southern Gaza) after October 2023 that enrolled more than 700 displaced children. These initiatives demonstrate the capacity of local actors to safeguard education in times of crisis.

At the same time, constant references to resilience risk turning it into a burden that normalises suffering and conceals the urgent need for care and justice, as well as recognition of pain and the right to recovery. Humanitarian partners should therefore move beyond simply praising resilience by providing direct funding, capacity-building and professional opportunities that respect local knowledge, prioritise community needs, and ensure Palestinians lead their own educational recovery. Empowering local educators keeps communities leading, rather than making them passive aid recipients.

Addressing cultural and psychological dimensions

Scholasticide threatens physical infrastructure as well as the cultural memory and psychological wellbeing of communities. Humanitarian programmes should incorporate initiatives that preserve cultural heritage, restore lost knowledge and support mental health. These can include oral history projects, arts and cultural activities, and efforts to recover and digitise academic records and publications. Supporting educators and students emotionally and culturally is vital to restoring a sense of identity and continuity.

Conclusion

If we acknowledge the vital role and power of education in a colonised society where knowledge production and freedom of thought create possibilities and open horizons, we must also confront the stark contrast between this emancipatory force and the oppressive realities in the context of colonisation, where the suppression of education is a tool in the hands of colonisers to control the colonised.

So, while education remains a cornerstone of Palestinian culture and resistance, Israeli colonial authorities perceive it as a threat, one to be systematically targeted, suppressed and dismantled. Therefore, the international humanitarian community must respond with urgency, clarity and determination. Education must be recognised as a core humanitarian concern and protected.

Humanitarians must deliver emergency educational support and advocate for justice-centred reconstruction led by local actors. This approach affirms the right to education as a foundation for dignity, resistance and justice. The fight against scholasticide is a fight for humanity itself. When education is attacked, the future is under threat. So, protecting education in Gaza is not only an obligation but a moral imperative for all committed to justice and the preservation of human life and dignity.

Wadee Alarabeed is a Research Fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.