The key facts
- Six Palestinian schoolchildren were killed and others wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza over two days — the Ministry of Education
- Two female students of the Muradia girls' school in Jabalia were wounded by fire from Israeli military vehicles
- In-person classes resumed on 19 September; the new school year is expected to cover about 541,000 students at roughly 700 in-person sites
Ministry of Education data
The Palestinian Ministry of Education reported on Wednesday that six schoolchildren had been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza over the past two days, with several others wounded. The ministry did not specify where exactly these students were killed and gave no details about their condition.
Incident in Jabalia
According to the ministry, on Wednesday Israeli military vehicles opened fire on the Muradia girls' school and its surroundings in Jabalia in the north of the enclave. Two students were wounded: Suad Kandil, a sixth-grader, with a gunshot wound to the thigh that required surgery, and Amna Khaled Ali Hader, a fourth-grader, with abdominal wounds. The ministry did not disclose the girls' condition.
Ministry statement
The ministry described what happened as part of a 'serious and ongoing escalation' involving schoolchildren and children, and warned that repeated attacks on schools undermine the remnants of the education system in the enclave. 'Schools must be safe places for learning, not an arena of fear, wounds and death,' the statement said. The ministry called on the UN and international human rights organizations to urgently intervene, stop attacks on schools and hold those responsible accountable.
School year context
In-person classes in Gaza resumed on 19 September after a break of nearly three years caused by the war. According to the ministry, the new school year is expected to cover about 541,000 students at roughly 700 in-person sites, as well as in an online format, despite the large-scale destruction of schools.
Overall toll
According to figures cited by the agency, since October 2023 the war in Gaza has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, over 175,000 have been wounded, and about 90% of the enclave's civilian infrastructure has been destroyed.
