RAMALLAH: The Ministry of Education said today that 4,296 Palestinian students were killed and 8,059 were injured since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7 on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

In a statement, the ministry said the number of students killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression reached more than 4,257 and 7,777 wounded. In the West Bank, 39 students were killed and 282 were injured, in addition to 85 others who were detained.

The ministry noted that 227 teachers and administrative staff members were killed, and 756 others were injured in the Gaza Strip. Five were injured and over 71 others were detained in the West Bank.

It added that 281 public schools and 65 others run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and vandalized in the Gaza Strip, 83 of them were severely damaged and seven were destroyed completely. Thirty-eight schools in the West Bank were stormed and vandalized.

The Ministry affirmed that the Israeli targ
eting of schools affected 90 percent of public schools and educational buildings that were subjected to direct and indirect damage. It said that 29 percent of the school buildings cannot operate after being subjected to total demolition or severe damage.

The ministry said that 133 public schools were used as shelter centers in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA