UNITED NATIONS — Israeli attacks on Gaza’s education and cultural institutions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination, according to a damning report released Tuesday by a United Nations investigative commission, reported by APP.
The UN Human Rights Council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) found that Israeli military operations have decimated more than 90 percent of Gaza’s schools and university buildings through airstrikes, shelling, arson, and controlled demolitions—effectively halting education for over 658,000 Palestinian children, many of whom have already missed two years of schooling.
“We are witnessing a deliberate campaign to erase Palestinian life in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “The systematic targeting of educational, cultural, and religious institutions will leave scars for generations, undermining Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”
The COI also reported that Israeli forces had occupied and repurposed educational facilities for military use, including the transformation of a campus of Al-Azhar University into a synagogue for troops. One documented case also found Hamas militants using a school for military purposes—a violation of international humanitarian law, which strictly prohibits the use of civilian structures for combat.
Beyond Gaza, in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities have reportedly seized and profited from cultural heritage sites while displacing Palestinian residents and restricting access to sacred and historical locations. More than half of Gaza’s religious and cultural landmarks have been damaged or destroyed, often while civilians, including women and children, were sheltering inside.
“These attacks go beyond physical destruction,” Pillay said. “They sever historical and cultural continuity, erase shared memory, and fracture the identity of an entire people.”
The Commission called on Israel to immediately halt all attacks on schools, religious sites, and cultural landmarks, to cease using such locations for military purposes, and to comply with international law and the orders of the International Court of Justice.
Investigators also urged Palestinian authorities to safeguard cultural sites and refrain from militarizing civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, UN agencies continue to sound the alarm over Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis, with the UN Children’s Fund and UNRWA warning of mass starvation and blocked aid, urging safe and unrestricted humanitarian access.
