The Israeli army bombed Gaza’s last university on Wednesday, in the latest blow to the Palestinian enclave’s education sector.
Gaza’s last university, Al-Israa University, was destroyed by the Israeli army as soldiers detonated hundreds of mines attached to the building.
Al-Israa University, which was captured by Israeli troops during the ground offensive on Gaza and used as a base for their operations.
Footage posted on social media captured the moment when the educational institution, which had already suffered some structural damage, was completely destroyed. Al-Israa University wrote on its Facebook page:
The [Israeli] army occupied and used it as a military base for its operations and a centre for snatching isolated civilians… and temporarily detained them for interrogations.
The Birzeit University in the West Bank condemned the “brutal assault”. The university wrote on its X account:
Birzeit University reaffirms the fact that this crime is part of the Israeli occupation’s onslaught against the Palestinians. It’s all a part of the Israeli occupation’s goal to make Gaza uninhabitable; a continuation of the genocide being carried out in Gaza Strip.
A museum established by Al-Israa University, which housed more than 3,000 rare artefacts, was also destroyed and looted.
Scholars and social media users from around the world called for a complete academic boycott of Israel, accusing it of deliberate and direct attacks on educational institutions in Gaza as well as cultural centres.
There were seven universities in Gaza, all of which were either destroyed or severely damaged.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 24,620 Palestinians have been killed and 61,830 wounded in the ongoing war in Gaza that began on 7 October. According to Palestinian and international estimates, the majority of those killed and injured are women and children.
